What Happens in Oklahoma
by The-Lady-Isis
Summary: What happens in Oklahoma, stays in Oklahoma." But what if what happens in Oklahoma decides it doesn't want to be left there...? BMWW, based on 'The Once And Future Thing'. Review please!
1. Where Are We?

**Disclaimer for whole fic: I own nothing. Not a sausage. Or a bean even. **

**A/N: Had a sudden glut of story ideas, so here's one. Enjoy. **

**Chapter One – Where Are We?**

"Have I mentioned how much I hate paperwork?"

Bruce looked up as Green Lantern sat down, a soda in his hand. "Just a few times," he said dryly.

"Seriously, taking down two bad guys results in eight forms? Whose idea was that?"

Bruce said nothing, only looked at him. Lantern quickly got the message, but stuck to his guns. "Well it's not one of your brightest," he pointed out.

Batman smirked and sipped at his drink. "Bad day?"

John shrugged. "Not a good day."

The chronometer inside Batman's gauntlet beeped twice, signalling 1800 hours, and within a few minutes the commissary was flooded with League members coming to eat. Hawkgirl entered, which caught John's attention, swiftly followed by Wonder Woman, which caught Bruce's.

Both men watched as Shayera and Diana reached for the same tray. The Amazon let go as if the tray was red-hot. Her angry and bitter voice carried all the way into the seating area of the cafeteria. "By all means," she said venomously. "You first."

John and Batman turned back to their drinks. "Diana's carrying a grudge," GL noted, not surprised. Apart from himself, Diana had taken the Thanagarian's betrayal hardest.

"She'll get over it," Bruce said dismissively. "How about you, carrying anything?"

John blinked. "What, Shayera?" He shrugged. "We're cool. Giving each other our 'space'. I'm seeing Vixen now." Batman just looked at him. It didn't take long for John to become uncomfortable. "I'm very happy," he asserted, not knowing why he felt the need to justify himself. But then Batman did that – sometimes your mouth just opened with no instructions from your brain.

The corner of Bruce's mouth curled up. "Uh huh."

Annoyed, John tried to shift focus – Bruce might know his weakness, but John knew his too. "Anyway, why are we always talking about my love-life? What's going on between you and Diana?"

The smirk on Bruce's face disappeared as fast as it had formed. "Nothing. She's a respected colleague."

"Uh huh," Lantern mocked.

Bruce put his drink down with a small noise of annoyance. "I don't have time to pursue a relationship. My work is too important to allow any distractions."

Still not convinced he'd gotten the Batman quite to the babbling phase, John took the decision to keep mum about the fact that Diana was walking up behind Bruce, a wide smile on her face as his words reached her ears.

"Diana's a remarkable woman, she's a valued friend, she's…" Suddenly Batman's entire posture stiffened, them immediately slumped. "…standing right behind me isn't she?"

Diana grinned, putting her food on the table and an arm around Bruce's shoulders. "Don't let that stop you," she encouraged. "Keep digging."

When the alarm went off, Bruce was out of his seat faster than Wally could have managed. "Intruder alert, dormitory deck A. Intruder alert, dormitory deck A."

The three of them sprinted down the corridors of the Watchtower, ending up in the one containing the quarters of the founding members, including Batman's rarely-used room, in which he kept some nominal supplies – a spare utility belt for instance. They found an unknown man groaning as he pulled the belt out of a hole that he'd apparently melted through the wall.

Batman wasted no time; he pulled out a batarang and threw it, lightning-fast, at the man's hand. It impacted onto his fingers, and he dropped the belt with a cry. "Argh!"

"Who are you?" Batman demanded. "How did you get in the Watchtower?"

The man backed away, looking very scared and flattening himself against the wall. "Y-You aren't supposed to see me…" They stepped closer, and he panicked, putting his hands up in a defensive posture. "Stay away! No-one's supposed to know I was here!"

Without another word, he pressed something on his belt and disappeared into a glowing wormhole. Diana dived in first, swiftly followed by the Dark Knight before John himself moved inside it. Immediately, he was rebounding hard off the very solid walls of the tunnel. Acting on instinct, John raised his ring and created a bubble that encapsulated Bruce and Diana as well. It didn't stop them rolling around inside the bubble, but at least it didn't hurt as much anymore.

The source of the light in the tunnel grew progressively brighter as they neared the end – in a burst of whiteness they shot out to bounce on the ground. John retracted the bubble.

"Everybody ok?"

Diana stood up and shielded her eyes against the glare. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around. Desert, as far as the eye could see. Suddenly there was the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked from behind them. Slowly, the three of them turned around.

---

**A/N: Yes, it is a re-make of _The Once and Future Thing_, but of course with a BMWW twist ;) Review please!**


	2. Welcome To Elkhorn Oklahoma

**A/N: I'm gonna try and skip through the bits from the episode you've already seen as quickly as possible, that way we can get to the BMWW bits - which is what we're all here for really isn't it? Lol. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two - Welcome To Elkhorn Oklahoma**

With the sound of guns, Diana's arms tensed automatically in the instinctual reaction – if there were guns around then she blocked them, simple as. As she turned, her eyebrows shot upward in surprise – the three men in front of them were dressed as though they'd stepped out of Wally's favourite spaghetti Western.

"Where?" Bruce asked. "I think the question is 'when'."

Within moments, the three League members were surrounded, but none of them had made any sudden moves yet – three people instantly appearing in mid-air, especially dressed as they were, was bound to shock anyone in this time. _Whichever time that is. _She still wasn't happy though. The one facing her had a nasty gleam in his gaze when he looked at her, as well as an evident, almost animal lust.

"I have to confess," he said, speaking to her breasts, "you're about the most colourfully attired individuals I've ever bushwhacked." He scratched his chin, giving her another once-over. "You circus folk?"

She folded her arms and regarded him stonily. "Not exactly."

He shrugged. "I don't care what y'are, long as you pay the toll."

"Toll?" She tilted her head.

"Welcome to Elkhorn Oklahoma, ma'am," he bowed. "This here's Tobias Manning territory."

She uncrossed her arms and balled her fists. "You want tribute? Money?"

"Well I ain't particular." Then he made the mistake. He touched her lasso. "That fat gold chain'll do just fine." Then he made the next mistake. A bigger one, if possible, than the last. He touched her, putting a finger under her chin and leering at her. "Unless you got somethin' else you wanna give me-!"

Deciding she'd had enough, she grabbed his lapels and chucked him over her head. He hit the ground with an 'oooph!' of pain. The other two gasped and pulled out their revolvers, firing. Diana calmly moved forward to defend Bruce and John. She barely moved her bracers at all. "Those are the biggest, slowest bullets I've ever seen," she told them lazily over her shoulder.

"You're letting them go?" Bruce asked, motioning to where the three men were going for their horses.

"Hmm? Oh no." Unhooking her lasso, she casually tossed it toward them, easily snaring all three of them before she tightened the knot, squeezing the air out of them enough to make them pass out. Diana tied them up around the dead-looking tree a few feet away.

Bruce moved toward one of the horses, stroking its nose before he moved to the saddlebags. Diana couldn't hold back a small smile. Emotionless Bat indeed. "I was afraid of this," he said, pulling a newspaper out. "The _Elkhorn Gazette_. It's either an amazing forgery, or it's less than a month old."

She took it. "So?"

"Look at the date," he instructed. "June, 1879."

John groaned slightly. "I _have_ mentioned how much I hate time travel."

She frowned. "If we don't find our sneak-thief, we're stuck here."

"Let's head for the nearest town, see if we can find him."

"We can't go anywhere dressed like this," Bruce pointed out.

She looked back over at the unconscious would-be bandits. "No. We can't."

She marched over to them and picked up one of the thugs. He was still out cold, but this close to the stench of old sweat was overpowering. She wrinkled her nose, but since the other two didn't smell much cleaner, she undressed him as quickly as she could without ripping the garments. There was no way in Tartarus she was taking his undergarments as well, and she'd need some kind of support for her breasts too. She picked up the armful of clothes she'd taken from the man and made her way back over to the horses, using the white one as a screen while she changed quickly, putting her uniform into one of the saddlebags. She'd just pulled the pants on, and then re-fixed her breastplate - to her bare skin this time - and reached for the shirt.

There was no shirt.

Cursing viciously in Themysciran, she looked around - the shirt was still on the ground, right by its previous owner. She must have dropped it, and so consequently was now standing behind the horse almost topless. Not such a problem if she was alone, or even maybe with John, but marching boldly out to pick it up when Bruce was only feet away would be more than embarrassing.

As if he'd heard her thinking his name, Bruce glanced at her. She swallowed and held his gaze for a moment. She didn't see him without the cowl very often...and she'd forgotten how astonishingly good-looking he was. Even if he hadn't been a billionaire he'd be beating women off with a stick. She broke their eye-contact and turned away, but apparently catching the glimpse of her still-bare shoulders was enough for him to work out why she still wasn't dressed yet. A few seconds later she felt his warm hand on her shoulder.

"Here."

She took the shirt without looking at him. "Thank you."

She felt his eyes on her just before she pulled the material on; like pins and needles all over her skin. She suppressed a small shiver, knowing she should feel angry about his perusal but only feeling a feminine satisfaction that he obviously liked what he saw. After all, he'd never said he wasn't attracted to her. She finished dressing quickly, finishing with a hat and trying not to blush when she turned back to Bruce.

Quickly, she cast around for something nondescript to say. She settled for, "These shoes are killing me."

Bruce raised an eyebrow disbelievingly after putting a hat on. "You fight crime wearing high heels."

"High heels that fit," she corrected. "Aren't you going to put those on, John?"

John sniffed the armful of clothes he was carrying with a look of disgust. "Has the shower been invented yet? Somebody should tell this guy."

Dumping the clothes on the floor, he simply created an outfit that looked right with his ring, then walked over to where the guns that they'd relieved the bandits lay. He flicked open the chamber of one, examining it closely before putting it into a holster at his side. He seemed surprised when Bruce bypassed the weapons and went straight for the horses. "Those empty holsters aren't gonna scare anybody. You sure you don't want one of these?"

"Positive," he said curtly, mounting. "Let's ride."

Diana leapt nimbly up onto the horse, kicking at its sides. It whinnied, launching into an immediate gallop along with Bruce and John's mounts. They hadn't gotten very far before something spooked the horse that John sat astride; within seconds, GL found himself being thrown from the saddle and landing hard on his butt in the dirt.

Bruce slowed his horse, then wheeled back to John. Diana quickly lassoed the other horse before it could get too far, then joined her teammates. As she got closer, she swore she saw Bruce's shoulders shaking slightly - it took her a moment to work out that he was suppressing laughter. By the time she drew alongside him, it had faded into the smirk which she knew represented a full-blown grin on the inside. She grinned back, then bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from laughing out loud. It wasn't the fact that GL had fallen - it was the thunderous expression on his face that was the funniest thing.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Her voice clearly betrayed the chuckles she was still stifling.

"I'm _fine_," he emphasised. He got up, and Diana removed the lasso from the horse as he took the bridle. He hesitated slightly before remounting. "Can we...not mention the fact that I fell off my horse in the mission report?"

Bruce nodded. "What happens in Oklahoma stays in Oklahoma."

John's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Thanks."

Once he was back on his horse, it didn't take them long to ride into town, and they slowed to a walk as they entered the outskirts. All the hairs on the back of Diana's neck stood up. This wasn't right - where were all the people? To be sure, it wasn't completely deserted, but the few people there were around all shuffled past without once making eye contact, fear in their body languages. Silently, the three Leaguers closed ranks slightly, instinctively moving closer, eyes scanning every building for potential threats.

"We should make for the guest-house," Bruce said. "We need somewhere to stable the horses, and maybe rest for a night if we can't find the thief right away."

"Agreed. So that means the saloon, right?" John asked.

"How do you know?" Diana enquired.

He shrugged. "It's the way it always works in movies."

She suppressed a smile. "This isn't the _Magnificent Seven, _Lantern," Bruce growled.

The reference was lost on Diana, but she couldn't see any other buildings that looked like they might house accommodation. "Do you have a better idea?" she asked.

He said nothing, which she took as a 'no', and they stopped outside the saloon and tied the horses up by the water trough. Diana patted her steed's neck as it drank gratefully. She really missed her horse - a stallion by the name of Achilles. Horses were the only males allowed on Themyscira, and even then only because they were needed to breed more horses. She knew her mother would be taking good care of him, but still...she did miss him.

She followed Bruce and John inside, to be met by the sounds of a cheap piano clinking out a tune she vaguely recognised. John went to the bar and ordered them all drinks as Bruce and Diana sat at a table, their attention focusing on what everyone else's seemed to be on: a poker game going on in the centre of the bar between four men.

As they watched, one threw his cards down on the table. "I'm out."

"What's it gonna be, Earle?" another asked, his upper lip curling in a sneer.

'Earle' scratched his chin. "I'm steadyin' it, Tobias."

The final one chuckled. "My papi always said: faint heart never filled the flush."

"It ain't your papi's money," Earle told him. "Fold."

"That leaves you and me," the first man said, looking at the youngest player. "What're ya holdin', Mr Lash?"

Lash pushed the chips in front of him forward. "It'll cost ya another five hundred to find out."

Tobias did the same with a smirk. "Call." He laid his cards out in a row. "Four kings and an ace."

Lash raised an eyebrow and tipped his hat up. "Well now that's a mite perplexin'…Seein' as I got four aces and a king."

It apparently did not perplex Tobias, since he acted quickly - pulling out a gun and focusing it on Lash. "Well…_I_ got the gun."

Lash put his hands up slowly, but suddenly a small pistol appeared in his hand, previously hidden up his sleeve. "Lotta that goin' around lately," he agreed. Then he gestured at the chips on the table. "Seems like a waste of a good size pot. How 'bout we split it and both walk away?"

Tobias's gun suddenly split into six other smaller ones. "How 'bout _I _keep it all?"

The other man put his gun down with a somewhat nervous smile. "Sounds fair the way you explain it." Two goons came up and grabbed his arms.

"That technology's from the future!" Diana whispered, moving to stand up.

She stilled when Bruce put his hand on hers. It was so rare for them to actually touch that she stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Wait. We don't know how things work here yet." At his commanding tone, ire rose in Diana, but she acknowledged that he might have a point, and sat down again.

"Hang 'im at dawn," Tobias growled.

The man's mouth dropped open. "Don't I get a trial?"

Tobias chuckled evilly. "Sure. You're guilty. My town, my rules."

"Wait a minute-" The lackeys started hustling him out of the door. "Can't we talk about this? How 'bout another hand, double or nothin'-!"

"I think we know how things work here now," John commented.

"We have to help that man!" Diana announced, the visceral reaction coming up at this miscarriage of justice.

"That's not what we're here for," Bruce replied immediately. "Someone's tampering with history. The stakes are much bigger than the life of one card-shark."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then it's settled. We'll break him out after sundown." As she got up, intending on getting them some rooms for the evening, she thought for a moment she heard John chuckle at something.

"Good evening," she said to the man behind the bar.

"Howdy, ma'am. What can I do ya for?"

"I need accommodation for tonight," she answered. "For three."

He nodded. "No problem. Gonna need the cash up front though."

She grimaced, then held a finger up. "One moment." She went back to the men - John was still stifling a smile, while Bruce was glaring at her. Ignoring that, she leaned forward, palm out. "I need that twenty you always keep in your boot."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Bruce. Money, come on," she urged.

He narrowed his eyes, but tugged the bill out of his boot and pressed it into his hand. She turned and went back to the bar. John's chuckles were unmistakable this time.

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	3. Thank Hera For Bath Rests

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Here's where we deviate from the episode a little bit, but it's all in aid of a good cause - namely BMWW. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Three - Thank Hera For Bath Rests.**

Once they'd eaten - some kind of questionable meat that Diana really didn't want to inspect any further - night had fallen, and Bruce still found himself outvoted. She had a feeling John had sided with her because he was finding amusement at Bruce's expense, but as long as she got her way she didn't really mind what his motivations were. They crept out of the saloon without being seen and tiptoed around the back of the jail. Bruce jimmied open a window quickly at they all slipped silently through, Diana creeping forward to peer around the corner.

There was only one guard, but he was armed. She went back to the other two and explained the situation in a whisper.

"If he shoots I could block it, but the noise will alert others," she said.

The other two nodded. "We could scare him," John suggested. "Make him pass out from that."

Bruce nodded. "Good idea. Nineteenth century, they're likely to be more superstitious than our time. Can you create something suitable?"

GL nodded. "I reckon I can do a decent ghost."

He raised his ring, and the glowing green spectre appeared.

Diana giggled, while Bruce smirked. Instead of a terrifying vision of bone and fear, John had basically managed to recreate Casper the Friendly Ghost. Even to someone living in the nineteenth century it wouldn't be scary.

John blinked, shook his ring and retracted Casper. He looked between his friends. "Can we-"

"What happens in Oklahoma," Bruce assured him in a whisper.

Diana sobered. "Why don't you try again, John."

He did - and it worked this time; the light-ghost was truly frightening. John nodded smugly and sent it around the corner.

"Argh!"

Once they'd heard the thud of the guard hitting the far wall, the three of them followed the ghost. "I'll get the door," John said. Impatient, Diana simply grabbed the door and pulled it from its frame with barely an effort. "Or that."

"I'd get out of town if I were you," Bruce said to the man they'd just released.

"I'd like to," he smiled, "but my papi always said: man who sticks his head in the sand makes a pretty good target. I got business to conclude before I leave." He stuck his hand out and shook Diana's hand with a friendly grin. "Bartholomew Aloysius Lash. Friends call me Bat. Bat Lash."

"I'm John. These are my friends Diana and uh…"

"Bruce." Diana had to hide a smile at his less-than-impressed tone.

"We're lawmen, looking to bring a criminal to justice," John finished.

"You may have seen him," Diana said. "He's got amazing machines. We think the man who put you in here works for him."

Suddenly a voice spoke up from the other cell. "Not quite, Wonder Woman."

Diana frowned. "How do you know who I am?"

"Because he's the man we're looking for," Bruce said, brushing past her.

The man nodded and gave a little bow. Diana had grown up with people bowing to her mother, and she knew the difference between real deference and fakery. "David Clinton, inventor of the chronosuit, at your disposal."

John did not look all that impressed either. "You tried to steal Batman's utility belt."

"And you chased me," he said, looking now a little irritated as he carried on with his explanation. "But time tunnels are somewhat counter-intuitive; even though you were only seconds behind me, I arrived here nearly six months before you did."

"Where's your time travel device?" Bruce asked.

He heaved a sigh. "Now that's a story. As soon as I got here, I was robbed."

"By Tobias Manning," Diana assumed.

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. He took my suit and used it to take over this town. He keeps taking trips to the future and coming back with stolen technology. Keeps me here to teach him how to use the stuff that he can't figure out for himself."

Bat Lash chuckled. "Which I'd suspect is most of it, what with him bein' so mule-stupid and all."

"It's been horrible here, humiliating," Clinton complained. "I just want to go home, I'll gladly take my punishment if you help me get back!"

"How did Tobias take over a whole town with a time machine?" John wondered.

"Future-tech, like his extra-dimensional six-gun," Clinton shrugged.

"And his surveillance cameras," Bruce noted, nodding at the camera mounted on the wall. It blinked menacingly at them. "We need to go, now!"

Diana frowned at Clinton, then yanked the cell-door off. "You're with us."

As John and Bat Lash moved away, she couldn't help the little smile on her face as she heard the cowboy say, "That's a healthy gal."

They made their way to the door, GL opening the door - only to be met by a barrage of gunfire. He created a shield and backed off slightly while he looked around, doing a recon and marking where all the shooters were.

"I've got their position, I'm going to take them down!" he yelled.

"Don't hurt anyone; we could accidentally change history," Diana warned from behind the desk.

"Little late for that, don't you think?" he shot back.

She didn't have time to reply, since the formerly unconscious guard burst in. Clinton squirmed, and Diana tightened her grip as Bruce took care of him. The man pulled out his gun, then looked sceptically at Bruce's gun-less belt. Bruce only smirked. "Go ahead. Give me an excuse."

The man went for his gun; Bruce simply yanked it out of his hand and then punched him, felling him like a log.

Suddenly the constant rat-tat of the gunfire stuttered, then almost stopped altogether.

John narrowed his eyes. "Something's happening out there."

Bat Lash put his hand on GL's shoulder. "Somethin's happenin' alright. The cavalry's arrived."

Within a few moments, the gunfire from outside had stopped completely, and they exited the jail to see three men standing in front of them.

"Who are you people?" John asked.

The man at the front inclined his head. "Sherriff Ohiyesa Smith."

It was the turn of the masked man. "El Diablo, ever at the service of justice."

"Jonah Hex," the final man grunted out. He had a horrid facial disfigurement, but Diana had seen a lot worse, and the man reminded her slightly of Bruce – she couldn't ever imagine feeling pity for him, even though he'd obviously suffered greatly. He reloaded his weapon somewhat ominously. "Don't have a lotta time for jawin'. In these parts there's an abundance of bad men who need settin' straight. If you all are workin' for Tobias there's gonna be difficulty."

Bat Lash put his hands up. "Easy, Jonah, they're with me. They helped me out of a spot while I was here incognito tryin' to find out more about Tobias."

"What have you learned?" the sheriff asked.

"Among other moral failings, the man cheats at poker."

Jonah grunted out a chuckle. "Heh. I coulda told ya that."

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Bruce said, taking charge.

While Ohiyesa explained what had led them to this point, Diana tightened her grip slightly when Clinton shifted under her hand. At his small gasp of pain, she loosened it slightly, but couldn't shake off the feeling of irrational dislike.

"…treats the townspeople like slaves," the sheriff finished, "…that's unacceptable to me."

"The sherriff went looking for men who would help take Tobias down," El Diablo explained. "He found us."

"What's your stake in this?" Jonah asked with narrowed eyes.

"We're lawmen too," John said.

"From back east?"

"Sure," Bruce said.

Diana thrust Clinton forward. "We came here to bring this man to justice. Indirectly, he's the source of your trouble too."

"Tobias stole a weapon from him. It's the source of his 'magic'," GL told them.

"We'll need to take that weapon back," Bruce said, warning in his voice just in case they were thinking of using it themselves.

"Since we all want pretty much the same thing, we should work together," Diana suggested.

Ohiyesa nodded. "I ain't about to turn down help."

"What's the plan?" John asked.

"Plan?" Jonah snorted. "Huh. We put 'im in the ground."

"It ain't somewhere you wanna attack in the dark though," Bat pointed out. "We'll have to wait till dawn."

"Then we have about eight hours to kill," Diana said.

"Let's head back to the saloon first," Bruce suggested. "We could all do with some rest."

They all nodded, and headed toward the building. The townspeople, while they hadn't been exactly rude before, seemed delighted to see Ohiyesa, especially since he'd managed to clear out Manning's thugs from the town. The bartender supplied them with bourbon as a thank you.

"Any ideas?" Diana asked as they sat down, personally feeling a little too wired for sleep.

"Poker?" John suggested.

"Sure," Bat agreed. "'Long as you don't play by the same rules as Tobias."

"What are the rules?" Diana asked, never having played before. Wally had taught her other card games, but hadn't gotten round to poker.

"Have a seat, I'll show ya," he grinned, pulling out a chair for her. He pulled out a much-used deck of cards from an inside pocket as everyone else sat down too. "Now since you're new to this, we'll just play a practice round first," he winked.

She narrowed her eyes, recognising patronisation when she heard it, but passed no comment. Bat didn't give her the chance to pick up her hand, doing it himself and putting the cards in her hands while conveniently shifting closer. Bruce shot a glare at him – which judging by GL's chuckle did not go unnoticed – and Bat Lash moved back again sharply. In a voice slightly higher than it had been before, he began to explain the rules; but after calling Diana 'doll' for the sixth time, and receiving a glare from the Amazon too, he also stopped patronising her, motioning to Jonah to carry on. Diana picked it up quickly and within a few minutes they were playing in earnest.

It was a tense game – for everyone except Bruce and Jonah, who could have been frozen for all the emotion they displayed, but Bruce had to admit, for a novice, Diana's poker face was pretty good. Probably came from being around politicians. She did have a tell though – she'd lick her bottom lip when she got dealt a bad hand, though once she'd done that it was difficult to keep his mind on poker. Finally, with the strongest position ebbing and flowing between all of them, the game reached its climax.

"Alright, show 'em," Ohiyesa said.

Starting with John, they went around the table, each revealing their hands. "Two tens, two jacks and a nine."

"All reds," El Diablo grinned.

"Queen and four sevens," Bat said.

Bruce laid his on the table. "Straight flush."

It was Diana's turn next, but she hesitated, frowning. "I don't understand," she said suddenly.

"Just show us your cards, Diana," John encouraged.

She shrugged and did so. "Four queens and a king. But I was under the impression that there was only one card of each number in each suit." Her eyes flicked over to Bat's cards. "So how can we both have the queen of diamonds?"

The men all turned to glare at Bat. "You cheated?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" he protested, putting his hands up in an innocent gesture. "How d'you know it wasn't her?"

Jonah tipped his hat up. "You accusin' a lady of cheatin'?"

Angered at the slur on her honour, Diana tossed her hair back. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Of course you wouldn't, señorita," El Diablo assured. "We know the fault does not lie with you."

"Besides which-" Bruce said, grabbing Bat's wrist and shaking it, causing two cards to fall onto the table, "-Diana's not the one with a pair of aces up her sleeve."

John, El Diablo, Diana and the sheriff all burst into speech, shouting at Bat. Bruce let it go on for another few minutes before he got up from the table and headed up the stairs. The others eventually settled down again, Diana slightly mollified when she won the next game. She took the money and headed upstairs after saying goodnight. The poker had done a lot to drain the tension out of her, and she needed to be well-rested for the battle tomorrow. With Tobias's future-tech, there was no way of telling how fierce the battle was going to be.

As she walked down the corridor, a maid came out of one of the rooms. Diana smiled at her, and the older woman winked. "The bath's – er – full, ma'am."

Diana nodded and smiled again, a little confused since she'd not ordered a bath but grateful for the opportunity anyway. She didn't know _what _the previous owner of these clothes had been doing in them but it had resulted in an atrocious smell whatever it had been. Taking off her hat, she opened the door already beginning to unbutton her shirt. And froze in the doorway.

It was several seconds before a thought crossed her mind other than _sweet Aphrodite – _and then it was: _thank Hera for bath rests. _

Bruce was in the tub already. A very, very _naked _Bruce. Thankfully the bath rest on which the soap was stationed was in the right position – or the wrong position part of her mind whispered – and prevented her seeing too much. Or not enough.

Apparently he was as shocked to see her as she was him, since he didn't do anything except stare for a moment. Finally Diana snapped back to her senses. Blushing a furious crimson, she clapped a hand over her eyes.

"Oh Hera, I'm sorry, I…it's just the maid said the bath was ready and I didn't even _consider _she might mean-"

"Diana."

"I mean if I had there's no way I would have-"

"Diana."

"I'm going to leave right now, I-"

"Diana!"

She peeked from between her fingers again, promptly wiping her mind of all conscious thought once more. "…yes?"

_The _grin made an appearance, which she supposed was an automatic response for him when he was – _gloriously_,her mind whispered – nude. After all, she was pretty sure Batman didn't ever get naked. "Let's just add it to the list of 'what happens in Oklahoma stays in Oklahoma'."

She nodded eagerly. "Alright." His expression changed to vague amusement when she didn't move. "Oh, right, I'll just-"

Without another word, she bolted from the room and flew into her own. Once inside, she leant against the door, knocking her head against it a few times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the Hades were you thinking, Diana?" Though to be fair, she challenged any woman to do any _thinking _with a naked Bruce Wayne mere feet away. Hera that was going to be embarrassing tomorrow. Fantasies were fine, but _that_ was entirely different. A whole lot better for a start, and Diana had a sinking feeling that that image wasn't going to be nearly as easy to dispel as her fantasies were.

Sitting down on the edge, she removed her boots, still mentally berating herself, while not being totally unaware of the ache that had begun to tease at her senses. She was no stranger to lust, or how to assuage it…admittedly she'd never assuaged it with anyone else, but at least it was a need that she could take care of. Making sure the door was locked, she undressed slowly, running her fingers along her own flesh to rub against the most sensitive points on her body. The bed wasn't particularly comfortable, but at this moment in time it didn't need to be, and Diana lay on the mattress in anticipation, letting her mind dwell on the still blazing memory while her fingers went on the move again.

Ten minutes later, she threw her head back onto the pillow with a groan of frustration. It wasn't working. Not even imagining herself in the tub with him had brought her any closer to release. Sighing, she sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed again. Great. Now she was tense about the battle _and _aroused. Wonderful combination.

It was moments like this when she hated being attracted to him. Though even she had to admit that when they were on missions like this, it was probably a good idea they weren't in a relationship. Not for any of the reasons Bruce had come up with, but there was almost no doubt that it would be a distraction. If it were a purely physical relationship…that would have many benefits, especially now. It would be the perfect way to release tension, for both of them. She knew Bruce well enough to know when the man needed to relax. Which…thinking about it, was all of the time, since Bruce probably hadn't truly relaxed in at least twenty years.

Diana wasn't naïve; a novice, perhaps, in the art of sex, but she had no preconceptions that the act itself had to have anything to do with love. She was sure that helped, but in her current situation, allowing her body to follow its desire blindly would be far more beneficial to her overall state of mind. Not that she imagined Bruce would believe her if she told him she really did just want sex.

She tapped her fingers in an irritated fashion, then stilled as a thought struck her. He had said…And it was a solution…All she needed to do was…

---

**A/N: I'm quite mean to you aren't I? Heh heh. Review please!**


	4. The Non Existent Night

**A/N: I have no idea why, but I've just watched this ep again...and for some reason the fact that you can see Bruce's throat is just so undeniably sexy...**

**Chapter Four - The Non Existent Night**

Bruce was back in his room, pants on and was putting on his shirt when the door opened. For the second time in as many minutes, it was Diana. She was flushed, minus her jacket and hat. It had amused him the first time, but now it was beyond a joke.

"Diana, what the-"

She shut the door behind her. "What happens in Oklahoma, stays in Oklahoma?"

He frowned. "What?"

She licked her lips nervously. "If we get this time travel belt back, then history will resume its normal course, correct?"

He nodded.

"So…in that case, whatever happens now will be isolated from the rest of time."

"Yes…" he said, not sure where she was going with this.

It was Diana's turn to nod, and then she moved closer, sitting on the edge of his bed. She looked at him with a very odd look in her blue eyes.

"Give me the reasons again."

Bruce let an impatient sigh out, hoping that she'd take it as annoyance and drop the topic. Of course, this was Diana. Not even the Batglare had an effect on her. "You heard me the first time, Princess."

"Humour me," she said simply.

He gritted his teeth. It had been hard forcing sincerity into his voice the first time, let alone doing it again. "Fine. One: dating-"

She held up a finger. "In reverse order."

"What the hell difference does that make?" he growled.

She bit her bottom lip slightly. "Please?"

His hands curled into fists. "Three: if my enemies knew I had someone special, they wouldn't rest until they'd gotten to me through her."

Diana smirked. "Not valid even in the twenty-first century, but in this time and place your enemies don't exist."

"Two: you're a princess from a society of immortal warriors; I'm a rich kid with issues."

Her smirk didn't fade like he was expecting – if anything it got wider, though couldn't be called a full-fledged smile just yet. "I've been exiled from Themyscira – no longer a princess. And since your grandfather hasn't been born yet, and you won't inherit anything for more than a century, I don't think you can call yourself a rich kid anymore."

His mouth opened, but he couldn't think of a single thing to say. She was right, in a really twisted way. "Bruce?" she prompted. "The first reason?"

He recovered, and swallowed to wet his suddenly dry mouth. "Dating within the team always leads to disaster."

There it was – the smile that slowly formed on her face was like the sunrise. She got up and walked toward him, stopping only a foot or so away. "I'm not asking for a date, Bruce."

His mouth opened again. "You mean-"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're an intelligent man. What do you think I mean?"

The immediate reaction – only not so immediate – finally kicked in, and he shook his head. "Diana, we can't. If the people in the League found out then it could jeopardise-"

"We're never going to get another chance like this, Bruce," she said flatly. "If something happens between us now…the League will never have to know."

He didn't say anything – she had a point, and he really, really didn't want to admit that.

Unperturbed, Diana stepped closer. Moving with deliberate care, she gathered her hair and twisted it into a coil, then pushed it to hang over one shoulder. The little eddy of air that it created wafted her scent over the six or so inches to Bruce. He inwardly groaned. Rose oil. It was such a simple scent, so…old fashioned, almost, but on Diana…It was irresistible.

"Could you do it, Bruce?"

"Could you?" he growled. Then his voice softened. "Do you honestly believe I could break your heart like that, Diana?"

Her expression did not change. "I don't believe you could break my heart at all, Bruce. I am stronger than you give me credit for."

"Diana, you're the strongest woman I know-"

She took his face between her hands. "Then do not treat me as though I will break if you kiss me."

He put his hands on her hips, tried and failed to summon the willpower necessary for pushing her back. If she kissed him then there was no way he had the strength not to return it.

"I am not fragile, or frail, Bruce. I know what I am asking," she whispered. "And I do not want anything you cannot give." His eyelids flickered shut when she stood on her tiptoes, brushing her lips over them. "Do you want to live…" Down the bridge of his nose, across his cheeks. "…your entire life…" She moved her mouth along the stubble of his jaw line, her breath unbearably hot against his ear. "…without ever knowing…" She stopped, millimetres away from his lips, her gaze fixed on his, and just as heated. "…how wonderful it could be?"

His mouth was open now, his breath teasing across her lips, and trembling. He still couldn't talk, but Diana had expected it, so she only smiled and moved her hands again, into his hair this time, teasing with the ebony strands. "And it _will_ be wonderful, Bruce. I promise you that."

With that, she kissed him. He knew she was going to do it, and the suspense of the last few minutes had been killing him, but it was another three seconds before Bruce moved. During that time, Diana did her best to help him along, nipping at his immobile top lip with her teeth, then sucking lightly on his bottom one. It proved to be the final straw – his hands grasped her hips harder, pulled her toward him and pressed her body against his. She responded eagerly, opening her mouth readily as he deepened the kiss, his tongue flicking out to explore her mouth and duel with hers.

Diana moved her hands down from his hair to his shoulders, finally settling her palms against his chest. Her hands felt like heated brands against his skin, and he drew back from her mouth in order to drop kisses down her neck. She tilted her head to one side, letting him gain better access. Suddenly it struck him: tomorrow it would be as if this night had never existed, as if Diana, for however brief a time she would be, had never been his. The urge to mark her that suddenly welled up was startling in its intensity, but he obeyed it, sinking his teeth lightly into the skin of her throat and suckling at it. Diana gasped, her hands coming up to tangle in his hair. He drew away a few seconds later, running his tongue over the red-purple mark he'd left behind. She kissed him again, passionately, but not too hurriedly, and with the same dominance that he'd used when he devoured her neck.

Her hands pushed the still open shirt off his shoulders without taking her mouth from his. It pooled at their feet, swiftly followed by hers. He stopped with a chuckle. "That's cheating, Princess."

Though she'd removed her bodice, she was still wearing the armour underneath the shirt, the golden breastplate revealing and somehow still hiding her form. He took the opportunity to run his palms down her bare back. At the feeling of his rough hands on her, Diana arched her back and yanked the armour away from her, needing to feel as much of him as she could. Both of them groaned when her breasts met the wall of his chest. Diana pulled back from his lips to breathe, nipping along his throat.

"How…was that even…attached?" he asked raggedly.

She took a moment to tease his earlobe with her tongue. "Stop thinking, Detective."

When her hands reached for the waistband of his trousers, he had no choice. It wasn't a difficult, and since the zipper hadn't been invented yet, she didn't have to worry about things getting caught. She did, however, have to worry about simply tearing his fly open, since buttons would go rolling in all directions. But this was taking a ridiculously long time.

Bruce chuckled and took her hands, dropping kisses on both of them. "Diana…we have all night."

A light blush spread across her cheeks, which he found utterly adorable and another reason to kiss her again. She found her fingers knew what to do once she had something else to focus on. When they drew apart, his flies were open. Diana giggled. "I guess I'm better at this than I thought."

She pushed him back – putting no strength into it whatsoever – onto the bed while slipping out of her own trousers. Moving like sinew, she moved over to the bed slowly with an almost mesmerising sway of her hips. It certainly mesmerised Bruce. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, she was poised above him, her body aligned with his but not-quite touching. She leaned down, creating a dark curtain of hair around their faces, and kissed him again, sliding her tongue out to memorise his taste. At some point his hands had settled on her hips and now felt as though they belonged there. To emphasise this, he pulled down slightly; Diana obliged and let her weight rest on him, her hips pressed against his.

Bruce sat up slightly, kissing down her neck and running his hands up her body to stroke the underside of her breasts. When his thumbs skimmed her nipples, Diana arched her back with a small moan. Unconsciously she rocked her pelvis downward against the bulge she found there, and it was his turn to groan. For a moment she pulled back, and they froze in their positions, Diana with one hand fisted in his hair, Bruce with his hands covering both her breasts, and both equally certain of how they felt about each other, and both knowing that this would never happen again. Diana smiled – sad and relieved that she'd been right – then kissed him slowly, almost, dare he think it, almost _lovingly. _And God help him if he didn't return it in the same way.

When he rolled them, Diana went willingly, giggling when her back hit the mattress as well as at the look in his eyes. The giggle was gone instantaneously when he lowered his wonderful mouth again, skimming along her collarbone before descending to her breasts. Diana arched her back to let his hands slip under her, and she found herself being lifted up and fed to his gluttonous mouth. Tendrils of pleasure spiked upward, only to recoil and pool between her legs again. She didn't know how long he lay there, inflicting pleasurable torture on her, but when her impatience grew too intense (which didn't take long), Diana moved again, rolling them back the other way until she was back straddling his hips.

She leaned down again to lay a trail of kisses and bites along his jaw. "Enough," she breathed harshly. "I want you. Now."

He grinned; a warm genuine smile that made her heart flutter slightly. "There's only two things stopping that, Princess."

Looking down, she saw what he meant. Admittedly her arousal had made both their underwear damp, but no less solid. She raised her hips to let his fingers divest her of her underwear, then did the same to him, instinctively curling her fingers around his length and moving her hand gently up and down. "Oh God, Diana."

He opened his eyes in time to see a wickedly mischievous grin on her face before she took her hand away and moved her hips forward, hovering over his arousal long enough to torture both of them. It took a substantial portion of his self-control not to grab her hips and pull her down, but he managed to achieve a compromise – his hands gripped her skin perhaps rather harder than he would have done if not being driven mad by desire, but he made no move to dictate the pace of it. Diana shot him a grateful smile, though she didn't feel at all nervous. She trusted him; one of the few men she trusted with her life – and the only one she would trust with this.

With a movement that caused so much pleasure it was almost painful, Diana slowly lowered herself onto him. Her hands grasped his shoulders until she was settled against his overheated thighs, both of them gasping. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his, almost afraid to move. Wanting, _needing _to obey the primal urges inside her, but for once lacking the courage to begin. "Bruce?" she whispered.

He kissed her, and slowly began rocking her hips over his until she caught the rhythm. She let out a moan when she did, which didn't take long, and matched his slow, measured thrusts. It was exactly as she'd imagined it would be, exactly the balance of pleasure and the rapidly-fading pain. Unfamiliar and natural together. The beat was prehistoric, ancient, overwhelming in its mindlessness. The pain gone completely now, she moved faster, harder against him, crushing her mouth against his to try and stifle her cries of pleasure when he reciprocated the new-found urgency of her movements. She bucked her hips as he thrust deeper into her, every movement sending waves of bliss through her body, causing her nails to leave tiny crescent marks on his back and shoulders. Diana's back arched against his chest as his mouth moved to her collar bone, kissing and biting it hard enough that she knew she'd have a mark there. Not that she minded in this particular moment, since was too busy biting her lip to stop herself crying out. The euphoria rose up until she didn't think it could get anymore intense, then it did, crashing over her in a wave that destroyed what little capacity for thought she had left and left her moaning Bruce's name even though their lips were still locked together. He came a few seconds later with long, drawn-out groan of her name.

Sweaty and unable to breathe and utterly satisfied, they leaned against each other, chests heaving. "Why…were we denying ourselves that?"

Bruce laughed breathlessly. "I have no idea."

She took his face in her hands and kissed him again. "Thank you." They were both still too out of breath for the kiss to last long, and he leaned back onto the pillows, Diana still atop him and with her head buried in his shoulder.

If she was expecting to feel the desire she'd felt to fade with the act, she was very wrong. Rather than draining away, she felt it would take only one spark to fan the flames once more into that same inferno. She knew that to say it would bring something far too dangerous into existence, but the look in Bruce's storm-coloured gaze told her the same thing. It was inevitable now. It could be tomorrow, or in a year, or in a decade from now, but one day they'd be here again. Unwilling to consider how long that might be, or to waste the rest of this non-existent night, Diana kissed him again.

"Diana, I-"

She put a finger to his lips. "Hush. Not tonight. Just make love to me."

So he did.

---

It had been years since Bruce's body needed an alarm to wake it up, and sure enough, at dawn, his eyelids fluttered open of their own accord. Less familiar was the feeling of smooth limbs and silky hair, the warm body stretched across his.

Her head was on the pillow next to his, her palm splayed on his chest, and one of her endless legs possessively placed on top of his in an almost feline pose. The expression on her face was perfectly restful, and utterly satisfied. She looked, in short, like the cat who'd gotten the cream.

Looking down at her, he tried to find regret for what they had spent most of last night doing. He found none.

He kissed her forehead. "Princess."

"Mmm?"

"We have to go."

---

**A/N: So what did you think? Review please!**


	5. Betrayal

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Right, in answer to my anon reviews: **

**Thanks very much RnJ, I'm happy you like the story! Here's hoping this chapter is as enjoyable too! **

**And Kurama - again thanks for the review. To the honest I'd never considered that, so maybe the gods were just looking the other way? ;) They do tend to toy with mortals, so maybe Diana's no different in that respect. I won't reveal just yet how I'm going to deal with that aspect of the story. As for the challenge, it definitely sounds intriguing, but also a little tricky. If Bruce loses his memory of Batman, then he'd also have to forget the event of his parents' death, which wouldn't just change the Bat, but everything about him. I'll give it serious consideration, but I can't promise anything! **

**Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy! **

**Chapter Five - Betrayal**

They dressed quickly, without embarrassment. Several times Bruce had to curb the impulse to reach out to her again. Each piece of clothing more she put on caused another little swell of disappointment. Her normal uniform didn't exactly cover a lot, but while she was wearing it, she was Wonder Woman, a symbol of justice and truth far more than she was a creature of the flesh. But now...no body that beautiful should be covered up. A shiver ran through him when he realised just how badly he never wanted anyone else to see it. It wasn't of desire, exactly, but neither was it of fear.

It bore thinking about some more. But not now.

Diana crossed to the door, then looked back at him, smiling. He couldn't help but smile back. "Diana...thank you."

Her smile got wider, and she nodded. "Likewise." She opened the door and went through, shutting it gently behind her.

A few moments later he followed, joining the others downstairs. "Ready?"

They all nodded, with GL's hand on Clinton's shoulder. They'd locked him in his room the night before, still not trusting him totally. "Alright, let's get goin'," Ohiyesa said.

Bruce tried very hard not to constantly roll his eyes as the eight of them rode off into the sunrise. Now it did feel like the _Magnificent Seven_. There was silence for a while, and the still-cool air whipping past his face was a pleasant sensation - odd, since normally he was rather less than a morning person. But then normally he didn't crawl into bed until five. Normally he didn't get to go for early morning horseback rides. Oh, and normally he hadn't spent the entire night making love to the most incredible woman in all creation.

He stole yet another glance at Diana's calm face, smirked, and looked away again. It wasn't that he'd lost his self-control; that was still there, still easily within reach, but...he didn't want to reach for it. His hands were around the reins of his horse, but they just didn't care enough to reach for the reins of self-control. And he should be disturbed about that - but, again, he just _wasn't_. Diana did that, which had been why he'd avoided pursuing anything romantic with her so far, but she knew his weakness, knew that he could only be beaten by logic, and she'd done exactly that.

And all he could find was admiration for her.

"Fancy gun belts ya got there," Jonah, riding next to him, commented after a while. "I'm thinkin' you folks are time-travellers."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, but maintained his unfazed manner. "Where would you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Experience," Jonah answered shortly. "I've had an interesting life."

_I bet_, Bruce thought. Ahead of the group, Ohiyesa slowed down slightly.

"We're gettin' close. I wanna warn you; there's some downright unusual activity goin' on hereabouts. Don't let it throw you."

John snorted slightly. "Don't worry about it, we've got a lot of experience with unusual-" Suddenly there was an angry shriek from overhead, and they all looked up to see- a _dinosaur_? John blinked, then turned back to the sheriff. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

"We've been sighted!" El Diablo yelled. "They'll be ready for us."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "I sincerely doubt that."

Without another word, she shot into the air, soaring upward and diving through the wing of the monster. All without losing her hat. As Bruce had expected, it was a robot, sparks flying from around the hole. The man on its back spread his arms and legs, revealing that he'd been wearing some sort of flying squirrel outfit. It allowed him to glide away safely while the robot smashed into the ground. Diana flew back down, landing gracefully back in the saddle. He wondered briefly how she wasn't sore this morning - though even if she was there was no way she'd show it. Their eyes met briefly, and she smiled at him before looking away. She still looked far too satisfied.

Another spike of desire shot through him. Damn, he could still taste her. Still no regret about what they'd done - the urge to do it again was too strong. She'd said she knew what she was asking - and he'd looked into her eyes last night, saw the truth of her words. She really did just want one night where they could give into what they'd both wanted. But now... Now he wanted more. He couldn't afford to take more, and for all he knew, Diana wouldn't offer more. At least he didn't think she would. She'd meant it as a stress-reliever, and if it was going to happen again it would be just that once more.

And he didn't want a stress-reliever. If he'd wanted that then Catwoman was always around. But he wanted Diana. He wanted more time to explore her body, to find the tiny little places that made her gasp and tremble. He wanted to be the only man who knew every single inch of her, inside and out.

He still wasn't after a lasting relationship, or marriage. But he'd make love to Diana till the cows came home.

They continued riding until they arrived at the compound. Ohiyesa dismounted and motioned for them to do the same, moving quietly. He pulled out a telescope and crawled forward to take a look at the compound. There were several sentries patrolling around the perimeter - as they watched, one of them turned to look directly at them. It was a robot.

Immediately, they were under a barrage of bullets, the first one snapping Ohiyesa's telescope in his hand. "Shots are spooking the horses!"

Bat was trying and failing to restrain the horses from rearing. "Shots are spookin' me!"

The Justice League didn't waste time; Bruce shot out a grappling hook and swung down into the compound, impacting into the robot's torso, with John and Diana following swiftly. The fight wasn't particularly long, but it was brutal, as they were faced by machinery that came from a hundred years into _their _future, let alone the future of this time. Robot dinosaurs and giant tripods - as well as tanks, which weren't all that difficult to deal with. The first one, Diana only had to grab the gun and bend it back on itself. Then she found herself in the grip of a tripod. She didn't know what type of metal it was made of, but it was certainly tough enough to deal with her strength. John took care of it, bisecting the robot with a green laser disc.

She dropped to the ground in time to see Bruce yanking the head off a robot, then using its decapitated body as a shield against more machine-gun fire. Bat Lash ran out in front of the last tripod, waving his arms.

"Hey, Tin-horn!"

He ran round the corner, and the tripod followed him - only to be taken out by Jonah, who was now in possession of a rocket launcher.

Ohiyesa side-stepped it as it fell, and then yelled out. "Tobias!"

The door to the barn slid open, and Tobias stepped out, carrying his gun. "If it isn't Pow-wow Smith. Wasn't expectin' to see your sorry hide again."

The sheriff cracked his knuckles and stepped closer. "I've told you before about callin' me that. It ain't gonna happen again."

"No," Tobias agreed, "I expect this is the last time." His gun split into six. "Go for your gun, Chief, so I can ventilate ya proper."

The others marched up behind Ohiyesa, eyes narrowed. Bruce spoke. "Six guns, six of us. Nobody miss."

There was no movement for a second, and then they all moved at once. Within half a second, all Tobias was holding was the butt of his gun. "My guns!"

Ohiyesa stepped forward. "You and me, partner. Right now."

Tobias reverted to cowardice. "Another day, lawman. Nova!"

There was a whinnying from inside the barn, and Diana's first thought was that Pegasus had been resurrected. Tobias leapt on his back, and took off. Ohiyesa was right behind him. John lifted into the air, but Jonah stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Let 'im. Man needs to balance his own accounts."

It was impressive to watch; the sheriff managed to grab onto the tail of the winged horse, then wrestled the control for Tobias, sending it smashing into the ground. As they'd suspected, it was another robot.

His escape route gone, Tobias rolled to his feet, pulling out a switchblade. "Have it your way. Let's finish this!"

The fight was over quickly. Ohiyesa pulled his guns from their holsters and dropped them to the ground. Tobias did not drop his knife, and slashed wildly at the other man. The sheriff dodged easily, grabbed Tobias' wrist and bent it backward until he dropped the knife. The thug was down with one good punch.

Ohiyesa bent for a moment, then straightened with Clinton's belt in his hand. "This what you're lookin' for?"

---

Once the three Leaguers had changed back into their usual uniforms, Bruce took the belt off Ohiyesa, examining it closely while John and Diana collected up all the advanced wreckage. Diana took particular pleasure in crushing up the remnants of the tripod that had captured her.

"Near as my ring can figure, that's everything that shouldn't be here," John announced after all the future-tech was shoved into orbit.

Bat tutted. "Shoot. I wanted me one of them fancy ray-guns."

"Ain't dependable. They jam," Jonah grunted.

"Oh, you forgot to reset the compensator," Clinton said helpfully to Batman, reaching over to press a button on the belt. "Here, let me."

The belt crackled and fizzed as it released an electric charge and shocked Bruce. As he fell to the ground, Clinton grabbed the belt with an evil grin. "Or maybe I'm lying!"

He opened up a tunnel, and John and Diana didn't waste time. She flew toward Bruce and scooped him up, and they followed Clinton into the vortex. John created the bubble around them again, but the landing was a lot rougher this time, as if the world no longer wanted them there.

When they tumbled out onto the ground, Diana felt relief that it was asphalt under her nose. Their time then, or at least closer to it than the last time. Bruce groaned next to her, coming back to consciousness, and she pushed herself up, reaching out to his face, concerned. When her fingers made contact with his skin, he looked at her, nodding slightly to indicate he was alright.

John pushed himself up to his knees as well, but didn't have time to say anything. From the gloom of a city that was most definitely _not _their Gotham, six figures detached themselves. None looked remotely human.

"We've been expecting you…"

They'd fight - of course they would, they were the Justice League. But whoever these guys were, the confidence with which they were approaching indicated that they were not going to go down easy.

But unexpectedly, help came.

A voice, literally, that came from above - accompanied by a slightly less divine bolt of purple energy. "But I bet you weren't expecting us."

Three other heroes landed next to them - and Diana stared. One of them most definitely had some kind of Thanagarian origin, another who was familiar but not - but it was the third figure that really caught her attention. Batman, only not a Batman who wasn't dressed anything like the one beside her. And one who could _fly_.

John stepped forward, looking at the grey-haired man. "Static?" he asked. "What's going on?"

So not their time then. The future. Which explained the new Batman suit, and the fact that he could now fly. She knew that the inability to fly was something that frustrated Bruce because he was forced to rely on she or one of the other metas, and since she knew there was no way he'd ever let any meta patrol Gotham, the new Batman's flight must be technological.

Next to Static, the winged man stepped forward and stared at John. "Dad?"

John's mouth fell open.

---

**A/N: Review please! **


	6. Batman, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Batman

**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! I kinda went on a spurt with this one, so enjoy! Oh, and to clear things up...I don't like Catwoman. As a character I think she's fun to read and fun to write, but only as a villain and NEVER with Batman. As in never ever. EVER! Since, as we all know, there is only one person for our Bats, and she comes in the form of an Amazon princess. **

**Chapter Six - Batman, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Batman. **

New Batman didn't waste time with allowing apparent father and son to get acquainted, and only dropped into a defensive stance, facing the villains. "We need to get out of here."

The one with long blond hair ran towards them, swinging what appeared to be a jack-o-lantern. "Leaving so soon? You didn't even take any party favours."

Suddenly a rush of golden stars erupted from the pumpkin. Somehow Diana didn't think they were going to be as pretty as they looked. The winged man's eyes widened behind his helmet. "Incoming!"

John raised his ring, creating a huge shield to protect them all. As soon as the stars hit the wall of green light, the effort of keeping it there was obvious on his face. It didn't make the new Batman relax. "That's not gonna hold!"

It didn't - soon enough the stars had melted through the shield, and they were dodging the explosions that hit the ground left right and centre. As the other villains approached, they scattered, each taking on a different one.

Diana found herself faced with what was apparently a clown with a ball instead of legs. She took a step back to gauge the situation before she attacked. He ignited a weapon that she'd seen before...in a Star Wars movie, if she had her films right.

He rolled toward her with vindictive pleasure in his tone. "Where d'you think you're going, sugar?"

He struck, and Diana raised her bracers to absorb the impact, but the action had no effect. Instead the jarring pain of an electric shock ricocheted through her body, and again when he attacked once more a few seconds later. She lashed out the second time, sending him flying back a few feet, but not far. She took advantage of the brief reprieve to acknowledge the pain still burning in her hands. What kind of weapon _was _that?

New Batman extricated himself from the creepy twin-things, and leapt into the air. "We're getting out of here, now!"

The winged hero was wrestling with what had once been a hyena, but was now mostly robot. "Not a chance," he groaned, flipping them again to avoid razor-like teeth, "hold the line!"

"He's right!" Diana yelled. "We're the Justice League, we don't run from a fight!"

She didn't have time to observe much else, since the clown with the lightsabre knocked her through several walls, stunning her. She dimly heard new Batman's reply. "I don't remember putting this up for a vote."

Diana picked herself off the ground in time to see some sort of device be smashed out of his hand. John called up to him. "Keep your head in the game, kid! There's always another way." He looked over at Static, lying in the remnants of a car. "Virgil, I need some cover!" he called.

Static nodded and created a ball of blinding light, then threw it into the sky. While the others were distracted, John created a vast green labyrinth. Rather than going into it though, the Leaguers (she assumed the others were Leaguers too) took to the air, new Batman carrying the original.

"I think we've lost them," John said.

They nodded, and followed the others. "Where are we headed?" the princess asked. "The Watchtower?"

New Batman glanced at her. "Not exactly."

They flew for about ten minutes before the winged man began to descend. They landed on the outskirts of the city, in what had once been the industrial sector. It looked as though it had been deserted for the last three decades. What by Olympus had _happened_ here?

Static led the way toward one of the more dilapidated warehouses, and pushed the door open. That was it; no padlock, no PIN code, nothing. Just...a _door_, and a door to a rat-infested warehouse at that.

"_This_ is Justice League Headquarters?" Bruce asked, sounding as if he expected a secret panel in the wall to open to the real JL HQ at any time.

Static stopped in front of a computer bank. "For now, we're all that's left of the League."

"You've travelled about fifty years into your future," young Batman told them.

John walked to Static, looking him up and down. "Last time I saw you, you were too young to drive. You look good for a man your age," he added, sounding impressed.

Virgil smiled wryly. "The miracles of modern medicine. Sixty-five is the new thirty."

Diana was barely listening - she'd always known when she was being watched, and she was now. But there didn't seem to be anyone else here, and the shadows were too thick to penetrate far. She looked, narrow-eyed, into them anyway. She lost track of the conversation as the feeling intensified. She was _definitely _being watched; whoever had their eyes on her...their gaze felt like fire.

She dimly heard Bruce's question. "And the Watchtower?"

"It's gone," new Batman answered. "We lost a lot of good people that day."

Disbelief welled up in Diana, taking her mind off the prickle of unease. "You mean Superman? J'onn? All the others?"

"Yeah," the winged man said wearily, pulling off his helmet. "You too."

"And the Batcave?" Bruce enquired.

A new, familiar, voice joined the conversation. "This is all we have left now." They all stiffened in surprise as Bruce stepped from the shadows. A Bruce gone grey with time, the angles of his face more pronounced, his shoulders stooped. A Bruce who looked like he'd forgotten what a smile was. "Deal with it," he finished bluntly.

At Diana's side, Bruce stepped forward toward himself. "Surprised to see me?" the older man asked with a smirk.

"A little," Bruce admitted. "I'm more surprised I lived so long."

The new Batman stepped forward between the two of them. "Batman, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Batman. Or have you met?" he asked.

"Not now!" they both snapped.

"Great," young Batman grunted. "What did they used to call it? Stereo?"

"This is a little weird for everybody," the man who had identified himself as John's son said, stepping forward and offering his hand to John. "I'm Warhawk. Rex Stewart."

Lantern looked more than a little perturbed, but shook his hand. "Your mother…who is she?"

"Kind of obvious, don't you think?" Rex asked.

Bruce turned from his silent scrutiny of himself. "Even if it isn't, leave it be. You don't want to know too much about your future."

New Batman nodded. "Trust me, you really don't."

Static, apparently, wasn't happy to stay quiet. "Shayera was one cranky pregnant lady," he said breezily. "Although to be fair, if I'd laid an egg that size…"

John's mouth fell open, and Rex hastened to reassure him. "He's kidding, Dad. Not that I understand why you think this is anything to joke about," he added acidly to Virgil.

"Because we already won!" he exclaimed. "Think about it: if old Bruce is here, that means he already lived through this as Batman!"

Older Bruce did not seem impressed. "Flawless logic, except that I have no memory of ever going to the future and meeting my older self, or of anything else that's happening today."

Batman stepped forward. "Those historical buildings we saw on the street – the timeline's been polluted."

"So polluted that history itself is becoming fluid," his other self nodded.

Diana folded her arms. "We better compare notes."

"Not much to tell," Static admitted. "We're kept busy with his lackeys more than anything."

New Batman continued. "We still don't know much about him. Obviously he's a time-travelling warlord; he's littered the streets with buildings from other time periods."

"He's not a warlord – at least he wasn't at first," Diana said. "When we chased him to the old West, all he was stealing were historical trinkets."

"He's causing severe damage to the space-time continuum," Older Bruce said. Fifty years had really given him time to get ominous down. "The degradation is increasing exponentially."

"I've got something," Batman added, fingers tapping on the keys at the computer. "When we were in the old West I got a good look at his time belt." He ejected a disc from the computer and held it up. "I've written a programme that should disable it."

"If we can get close enough to upload it," Rex added.

"If we can get our hands on the belt, maybe we can stop any of this from ever happening in the first place…" All heads turned towards Diana as her form literally began to fizz out of existence, like a picture on an old TV screen. Apparently unaware of this, what was left of Diana turned to the younger Batman. "We could even undo the deaths of your friends…"

Bruce lunged forward to try and grab her, but where seconds before there had been a very solid Wonder Woman, now there was only empty air. "Diana!" For another few seconds, he just stared at the space she'd been as if it defied logic. She was…gone? How could she be gone? Diana was a constant, she was like the sun, or gravity. Gone?

"She…never left the island," his older self said, for once letting his emotions show. Exactly how Bruce was feeling; shock, and horror. It hadn't just been Diana who noticed how his older self watched her - Bruce had seen it too. He wasn't in love with Diana. He cared about her, a lot, maybe more than he had for anyone before her, but he wasn't in love with her yet.

His older self was.

When and where and how that changed, he didn't want to know. Wasn't sure he wanted it to happen anyway, since being in love with her hadn't helped him in this future. How could it help in any other?

But there was no denying the the old man in that chair now looked...heartbroken. Yet his expression was missing the bleak edge of black rage now creeping in to Bruce's heart. The bastard had taken Diana. She'd either never left the island...

"Or she was never born," he said darkly.

The new Batman came forward, looking at the screen. "Time is running out." As the men watched, the sky began to unravel, leaving behind only whiteness. "Literally."

"We need to find Chronos," Bruce said. _This ends now. _

"How? He could be anywhere."

He strode to the doors. "Sometimes the old ways are best."

"It's not going to work," young-Batman said. "You don't know your way around here. A lot of things have changed."

Bruce slammed the doors open. "Are criminals still superstitious and cowardly?"

"Yup," his older self answered immediately.

His voice dropped to a growl dripping in menace. "Good enough for me."

---

It was very bright here.

Wherever _here _was.

It had been dark in the warehouse, dark in the _world _there, but now...it was just white. _Where am I? _

She tried to say it, but here she didn't have a voice. She didn't have a body, she had no _form _at all. She began to understand, somehow. There was no time here, no places. And that was fine. It was...the space between reality.

"Hello."

The voice was echoing, but it was a voice. It wasn't hers, either. Where before there had been nothing, now there stood a little girl. Ebony hair and cobalt eyes. She was very pretty. There were no mirrors on Themyscira, but Diana could only imagine she herself had looked like this once.

_Hello. _

"Can't you talk?"

_No. Where are we? _

The little girl giggled. "You already know, silly. But don't worry. They'll fix it."

_They? _

"They."

Bruce and John, she assumed. Though what needed fixing? This blissful blankness was wonderful. There was certainly nothing wrong with it. _But I like it here_, she told the little girl.

Another voice joined the conversation. A boy's, this time. "Well _I _don't."

The boy looked the same as the girl - dark-haired and blue-eyed. Diana was puzzled. _Who are you? _

The boy shrugged. "The same as her," he said. "We're both part of you."

She remembered talking to J'onn as he explained the meaning of the yin yang - that no whole person can exist without elements of both male and female within them. She had not believed it then, but now it seemed to be irrefutable.

"You don't belong here," the girl told her.

_But I like it here_, she repeated.

"But what about u-"

The boy shut up as the girl elbowed him. "Not too much!" she told him.

_How long will I be here for? _Diana asked.

"Until he fixes it," the girl said.

_Who?_

"Batman of course. He's working on it, don't worry."

Diana would have smiled if she had a mouth to smile with. _I'm not_, she told the children. _If Batman says he'll fix it then he will. _

They both nodded solemnly. "We know."

"We're going to go now," the little girl said. "At least in this form."

They joined hands, and vanished. Diana didn't miss them - they were still part of her. And it didn't matter how long it would take in a place where time had no meaning. Bruce was working on it. He'd fix it.

She only had to be patient.

---

**A/N: Yes, the end was for you, Hepburn. Review please! **


	7. In This Gotham

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Enjoy this chapter! **

**Chapter Seven - In This Gotham**

He perched on the rooftop like a vulture. He called himself the Batman, but anyone watching would have likened him to only one predator: a wolf. In _his _Gotham, he would have kept to the shadows. In _his _Gotham it would be better for the scum not to know he was there until he'd already knocked them out. But in _his _Gotham, the ordinary criminals were not super-powered. In _his _Gotham, the Justice League was strong.

In _his _Gotham, Diana still existed.

So now, in _this _Gotham, Batman was through hiding. He was through waiting. They might come to him, and he'd take them all down. He'd destroy them utterly.

New Batman had assured him that in plain sight it wouldn't take long for one of the scum to come looking. It didn't, and within a few moments, Ghoul turned up. Bruce turned to face him, lenses narrowed, but said nothing.

"You're s'posed to be the real Batman, right?" Ghoul asked. "I mean the first one. I've seen history cubes about you. Hard to believe somebody as stupid as you ever beat the Joker," he mocked.

Batman's eyes narrowed to while slits, his voice lowered to a pitch that anyone with more than one brain cell would have taken as a sign to start running. "Maybe I'm smarter than I look." _Come on. Give me an excuse. _He was feeling a recklessness coming over him that he hadn't felt in a long time; not since recovering Tim from the Joker's clutches. If an opportunity presented itself...he wouldn't hesitate. He'd maim, torture, kill if it got Diana back.

Ghoul chose to ignore the only warning he was going to get, and instead charged. The trap sprung, and he was knocked back with a shock of energy from Static, descending with Rex, young Batman and John. Bruce's older self had already been waiting in the shadows on the rooftop.

Ghoul turned over to see all of them converging on him. "Oh terrific."

Young Batman leaned forward. "You've got some information we need, Ghoul."

"You won't find me the talkative sort," he snorted. Batman came up behind him, grabbed his shoulder and simply dragged him over to the edge of the building. "Hey!"

Bruce switched his grasp from shoulder to ankle, and let Ghoul swing into thin air - quite prepared to drop the criminal if he proved uncooperative. "Where's Chronos?" he demanded. "My arm is getting tired."

Apparently, either his older self had not understood how much Diana's disappearance had changed things, or he wasn't impressed. He came and stood next to Bruce, reaching for Ghoul. "I can't believe I was ever that green," he commented dismissively. He threw Ghoul back onto the rooftop and descended on him. "_This _is how you interrogate someone."

Watching, Batman had to admit he was impressed. They might not have been the same tactics that he would have used, but there was no doubt they were certainly effective. In less than thirty seconds, his older self had Ghoul babbling about everything he'd ever been told. He switched his attention from thinking about how he could incorporate it into his interrogation technique and back to what was going on.

"-and we've got nine thousand four hundred and fifty three active Jokerz organised into about two hundred smaller groups!" he said. "I don't know where Chronos is! He contacts us!" he asserted, nodding furiously. "Spends every night in a different one of those old buildings. There's no way of knowing ahead of time where he's gonna be! And that's everything I know!"

Old Bruce bent forward menacingly. "_Everything_?"

There was a slight pause. "…I wet my bed until I was fourteen!"

He was met only by narrowed eyes. "Losing my _patience_."

Bruce intervened, a hand on his own shoulder. "I can't control my friend here much longer," he warned. "You better give us something we can use."

"His wife!" Ghoul babbled. "I know where his wife is!"

Both Bruce's straightened, smirking at each other. Jackpot.

They left Ghoul handcuffed and unconscious to some piping on the roof, and took off after Chronos' wife, in the Great Pyramid - no longer in Giza. Rex and Static went first, with Batman taking old Bruce with him. John and Bruce were left on the ground, but GL made no move to take off, instead turning to Bruce.

"Hey," John said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"

Bruce just glared. "Why wouldn't I be?"

It wasn't often that he saw John look totally stunned. The first time was when it had turned out Shayera was engaged to Hro Talek. "Why _wouldn't _you be?" he demanded. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because _Diana _just disappeared into thin air? Maybe because you've met your future self and it turns out he's old and lonely and bitter? Maybe because-"

"If you have a point, get to it," Batman growled.

John folded his arms. "Alright, fine. I know how you feel about Diana-"

"No, you don't." _He _didn't know how he felt about Diana, let alone anyone else.

"So you do feel something for her," his friend said, his eyes gleaming in something like triumph.

"We have a job to do," Batman said flatly. "So unless you have anything _useful _to say?"

Apparently John had made his point, since he stepped back and enveloped them both in green light, following the others.

Flying across Gotham, it didn't take long to get there, and they set down outside the Great Pyramid. John, still angry with Bruce, stormed ahead into the huge tomb.

Bruce moved in front of himself and stopped. "Recommendations?" he asked curtly.

"Not happening," was the flat reply. "Can't risk tampering with destiny."

"I don't believe in destiny."

"Age has a way of re-casting things."

"Bull."

"Fine. One: spend more time with Dick and Tim. Two: _don't _sell the company. Three: you know what three is."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Not…?"

"No comparison."

"True," he admitted. "And him?"

"_He _has a name."

"Alright. What about Terry."

"He'll find you or you'll find him, one way or another."

The second eyebrow joined the first. "That sounds like faith."

"Like I said: age."

There was silence as Bruce debated whether or not to ask the next question on his tongue. Of course, since he was talking to himself, he didn't need to verbalise it. "Once," was the answer. "Ten years ago." The voice went hoarse. "Night before the Watchtower went down."

That surprised him. Ten years ago would still mean this Bruce would be an old man. Not as old as he was right now, but still a man in his seventies. "And she still...?"

He was fixed with his own glare. "Do you really think that would matter to her?"

_Yes _was the honest answer. He couldn't see how it _wouldn't _matter. "I see."

"There you go then." Older Bruce nodded at the door that the others had disappeared out of. "They'll be waiting. Move your ass."

He went inside to see Rex dismantling an Egyptian robot deftly. His fighting style was far more reminiscent of Shayera than it was John; he'd obviously learned a lot from his mother.

John stepped forward. "Enid Clinton?"

As with Diana, the change was sudden. One moment he was John Stewart, the next he was another man altogether. The new man carried on John's sentence. "We have business with your husband." Only then did he notice the stares of everyone else. "What?"

"John?" Static asked.

"Hal Jordan," the new Lantern said briskly. "Another time shift, I'm up to speed. Carry on."

New Batman sighed. "Ok, I'm starting to get a migraine."

"We better get used to it," Bruce warned. "This is going to get much worse before it gets better. Any one of us could change or cease to exist." His mouth tightened with the last words. He'd get her back. He had to.

"That's why you have to tell us where to find David," Jordan explained, moving toward Enid Clinton. "We just want to undo the harm he's caused; you have my word we'll do everything in our power to keep from hurting him."

She scoffed, folding her arms. "Between you and me, I wouldn't mind one bit if he got roughed up along the way."

It did not surprise Bruce that Chronos' wife held him in contempt.

Rex stepped up next to the man who had been his father. "Then where is he tonight?" he asked. "The Parthenon? The Great Sphinx?"

She shook her head. "He just wants people to think he moves around; he always sleeps in the same place."

"Where?" Bruce demanded.

"The Coliseum," she replied. "And I'm coming with you."

Old Bruce went back to JL HQ, while the others - along with Enid - headed to the city centre, and the Coliseum. They landed on the midst of it, next to a very familiar jail-house. Another surge of longing for Bruce. That jail was from Oklahoma. The same town where he and Diana had...

Green Lantern scanned the building with his ring. "No booby traps." Suddenly he was John again. "…at least none that my ring can detect."

Static sighed in exasperation. "Make up your mind, would you?!"

John ignored him. "Anyway, it's safe to go in."

Rex moved forward, then hesitated. "If we don't beat this guy, it's the end of everything."

Terry tried to comfort him, albeit in a fatalistic way. "We've been there before."

"Not like this," Rex replied. He sighed, looking down. "What are you supposed to do when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

John put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "Plant your feet," he told him firmly.

Rex smiled, nodding and looking very much like he wanted to hug John. From what Bruce could see, his friend wouldn't have resisted.

With Enid Clinton leading the way, six of them went into the jail, and then into the cell where they'd found him in the old West. "I don't understand," Terry commented. "Of all the places he could be, why sleep here?"

Chronos' wife laughed derisively. "Because a loser with a kingdom is still just a loser. See for yourself!" In a sudden movement, she whipped the blanket off her husband, waking him up in the process.

He took his thumb from his mouth in consternation. "Enid?"

"Nice on the stealth thing, lady!" Terry admonished.

Bruce took charge. "Get the belt, nothing else matters!"

Chronos had been expecting them; he immediately opened a portal which admitted all of the villains except the ball-clown guy. Once they were in the shack, Chronos disappeared. Bruce didn't remember much of the fight after that; mainly because the roof collapsed on top of him. It was several minutes before he regained consciousness, but once he did, he immediately sought out the time-lord. There was no sign of Static - and only the remnants of Terry. Rex looked as though he was getting the shit kicked out of him by a mammoth.

Mouth set in grief and revulsion, Bruce ran toward the skinny figure of the former David Clinton. "Chronos!"

Chronos blinked in apparent admiration, having not expected to see Batman alive again. "You _are _good. Isn't he good?" he asked his wife, grinning.

"Look at what's happening around you!" Bruce yelled. "Look at the sky!"

Chronos did so, a dreamy expression coming over his face. "Pretty…"

John landed at Bruce's side, coming to the same conclusion as his teammate. The man was absolutely insane. "Stay with us, man, we've got a problem here!"

Chronos refocused on reality. "Right, you're right. This calls for another approach." He put a finger to his chin, thinking. Suddenly he perked up, leaned in and kissed Enid's cheek. "You'll love me next time!"

He pressed the button on his belt, creating a tunnel behind him and leaping into it. Batman and GL were after him immediately.

"Where's he going?" Bruce demanded once they were safely encased in the green bubble. "There's nothing left!"

Worry creased GL's face. "Yes there is. The beginning of time."

Bruce's mouth fell open. "He can reset everything – make himself into a god!"

"Only if he gets there first!" John retorted, increasing speed. "The Green Lanterns have a legend: no-one can see the beginning of time. It's a universal law!"

Bruce suppressed the urge to smack John upside the head. "Write him a ticket!"

John didn't reply, but poured more power through his ring, the strain showing clearly on his face. Finally he managed to grab Chronos with a pair of laser handcuffs, and yank him inside the bubble. Bruce wasted no time, slotting the disc into Chronos' belt.

"Uploading the programme!"

"Make it fast!" John groaned out. "…having a little trouble with the brakes!"

The strain was evident on his face as they continued to hurtle through time. Suddenly a giant hand appeared at the end of the tunnel, a swirling vortex sitting in the palm. As they watched, it closed slowly - far too slowly. If they hit the vortex then Chronos would still be able to-

A flash of white light. The commissary. Drinks in hands.

John blinked. "That all…really happened?"

"Think so," Bruce nodded numbly.

"Then…we won!" his friend murmured, not looking as though he believed it. "Everything's back to normal?"

_No. Everything is not back to normal, where the hell is- _

"That's a nasty cut, John."

At her voice, every bone in his body felt like it had melted in relief. His heart seemed to have relocated to his throat, and was restricting his breathing rather than aiding it.

Offering a small smile, Diana sat next to him and began eating. He got his bodily functions under control, then raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, realising what she'd just said. "You don't remember going on a mission with us today, do you?"

She frowned in question. "I just got here."

He leaned toward John, mostly speaking to himself. "The timeline's restored to equilibrium. We're the only two people who remember what happened."

John's eyes widened as they focused on Shayera, just leaving the cafeteria. "That…complicates things…"

_Yeah. Yeah, it really does. _He hadn't been counting on this. One night where they could act on their impulses was fine, but for Diana not to remember it? What on Earth was he going to do now? Damn David Clinton to hell.

In spite of himself, Bruce gave a wry smirk. Perhaps he had.

Then he frowned. Before, Shayera had left before Diana sat down, not after. Things apparently weren't exactly the same as they had been - and he knew from experience that small changes could be potentially more damaging than big ones. He'd have to keep an eye out.

What happened to Chronos?" John asked.

The smirk came back, widened into a smile that was almost evil. "I re-programmed the belt to make sure that Chronos would never come to exist."

---

**A/N: And this is where we enter uncharted waters! The episode is over, so now I hope I continue to do ok without the guidance of the cartoon. Review this chapter please! **


	8. More Than A Month

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Right, now I owe you all an apology. My normal medium of getting JLU scripts has failed me, so I had no choice but to go on memory alone for the end of ****_The Balance - _I got the gist, but not the exact words, and I'm not happy with it, but there you go. Enjoy the chapter anyway. **

**Chapter Eight - More Than A Month**

"Oh this is ridiculous!"

Artemis chuckled slightly. "Trouble, sister?"

Aphrodite fought the urge to throw her scrying glass down the mountain. "I have _never _come across a mortal _so _resistant to my workings! Especially to our champion, of all people! There are men on Earth half in love with Diana who have never met her!"

Artemis put her bow down and lazily wandered over. "Ah. The 'Bat' man again?"

"Need you even ask? I have lost count of the number of times I have been forced to..._prod _him in the right direction! I even allowed Circe to-"

Artemis looked up, anger on her beautiful features. "_You _were responsible for that? Diana nearly died!"

"But she didn't, as I knew she wouldn't! Her Dark Knight saved her. And do not look at me like that, Artemis, it was only to change the dynamic between them in the hopes that it might shift something in him!" She cursed in a language older than man. "Stubborn, pig-headed..."

Artemis shrugged. "It is easily settled. Call for Cupid."

"No!" Aphrodite said sharply. "I cannot use Cupid. You know how it must work with soulmates. They have to _find _each other."

The goddess of the hunt chuckled. "It is your own rule."

"I know, and I am seriously regretting that." The goddess of love ran her hands through her spun-gold hair in distraction. "I already got them together once, and it would have been the most glorious love of this age - but then another interfered! I hate the fickle nature of time!"

Artemis picked up an olive casually. "As opposed to the fickleness of love?"

Aphrodite sent her a glare. "_True _love is never fickle. But Diana does not remember finding it."

Her sister shrugged. "So restore her memory."

"Hera will not let me," Aphrodite sulked.

"Has that ever stopped you in the past?" Artemis asked dryly.

"I have no desire to see a repeat of Troy," was the defensive reply. "And I suspect I _have _found a way to, so I have interfered in the only way I can so far."

Artemis looked suspiciously at Aphrodite. "What have you done?"

The goddess of love only smirked. "You will see."

---

It had been more than a month. More than one month since they'd got back from the future, more than one month since he and Diana had slept together, more than one month since he lost her and got her back. And more than one month since he'd been able to look her in the face. Of course, with his lenses it hardly mattered that his gaze was fixed just past her left shoulder. He tried for about half a day to look _at _her left shoulder, but...

But the way her hair brushed over her skin. The memory of her flesh that still set his hands tingling. The fragrance of those ebony locks. The warmth and softness of her body against his. _Diana_...

He now came to the Watchtower only out of necessity.

Something needed to change. But what, and when, he had no idea.

The bi-weekly founders meetings were something that he couldn't avoid, however, not without too many questions being asked. And during the staff meeting that had occurred today, it had become apparent that it wasn't just Diana he needed to be avoiding.

Green Lantern had spent the entire (two-hour thanks to Superman. _Mental note: KRYPTONITE!_) meeting ignoring Clark totally, and only looking from Bruce to Diana and back again with something that looked unsettlingly like comprehension.

When the meeting was over, Bruce didn't try to escape back to Gotham. John was as stubborn as he was when he wanted something, and however long it took they'd end up having the conversation anyway.

The others left, and Batman moved over to the computer bank to give John an opportunity to talk. He found himself under silent scrutiny for several minutes before a conversation began. Bruce didn't mind the silence - it gave him time to prepare for what he was sure would be a fight.

"Something happened in Oklahoma," John finally said, arms crossed. "You and Diana slept together didn't you?"

Irritatingly, John was one of the few people that Bruce wouldn't lie to. But that didn't mean he wanted to share either. "So?" he asked, changing his mind and heading for the door again.

"So she has no idea!" GL exclaimed. "You can't just pretend it never happened, she has a right to know."

Bruce stopped. "Have you told Shayera about Rex?"

There was a long pause. "Then we're done here," he said, opening the door and stalking off.

---

**One Week Later**

"The truth is it doesn't matter," she said, shrugging. Then she smiled at her teammate. "I know who raised me, and I know what I was raised to do."

Shayera nodded with an encouraging - if hesitant smile - then lifted into the air. After suppressing a retch, Diana followed. Ever since they'd entered Tartarus the sulphur and brimstone of the place had been almost overwhelming, making her eyes water, her stomach turn. It had been like flying into a solid wall of stink.

Still, no matter how hard the mission had been, they'd done it. And she and Hawkgirl had managed to rekindle their bond. It wasn't the old friendship; that probably wouldn't ever come back, not really, but it was a start. They could exchange greetings in the hallways, both have dinner with Flash without shooting glares at one another. It would be better.

Once they were through the gates and back on Themyscira once more, Diana felt so much better. Hera, had air always been so clean? She landed next to her teammate more abruptly than she'd meant to, then stumbled. She was barely listening to her mother - she knew her words were good, but she couldn't focus on them. Gone was the terrible smell, but now she'd gone completely light-headed. She put a hand to her head with a soft groan.

"Hey," Shayera said, putting a hand on her arm. "You ok?"

Diana nodded, forcing herself to sound unconcerned. "Just...a little dizzy, that's all." She straightened and smiled. "Probably from the fumes down there."

Hawkgirl nodded. "Hey...are we ok?" she asked.

Diana nodded. "Yeah. Friends?"

Shayera smiled again with a nod. "We're like oil and vinegar...we work together, but we don't mix."

The princess smiled as the two women flew after Hippolyta. Oil and vinegar. Yes, that did sum them and their relationship up well. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that it had been some time since her last meal, and she was definitely hungry.

The sunlight on her skin felt wonderful when they finally made it to the surface, and she found her mother's arms open and waiting for her. Diana stepped gratefully into them and embraced Hippolyta. "Well done, Diana," she said warmly. "You did well." She let go and turned to Shayera with a nod. "As did you."

The queen beckoned and led the two into the private residence that Diana and her mother had shared when Diana was a little girl. It was very odd, being back here after so long. Good, but odd. Leaving her mother and Shayera to chat for a moment, Diana went to her girlhood bedchamber. No Amazon could ever be described as girly, but this room had unmistakably a child's. She had not been young in years when leaving Themyscira for Man's World, but she had been a child, and this room was a testament to that. She smiled at the clumsy clay sculptures in the corner, and at the cracked discus in the corner.

As a girl she'd tried to be an athlete, an artist, a philosopher. Amazons did not only revere warriors, though love of battle lay at the heart of all of them - many of her sisters were both fine soldiers and mistresses of other disciplines. Multi-tasking, as Man's World called the skill. Diana knew that logically she must have other abilities, blessed as she was by the Five, but as a girl she'd never found them. The realisation confirmed what she'd long suspected - there was no place on Earth better to grow than Themyscira, but perhaps it was not the best place in which to live as an adult. Nothing ever changed, there were no real challenges. At least there never had been for her.

Diana stopped and laughed aloud when she found the armour she'd made at seven years old. It was a smaller, far more primitive version of the armour she wore now. Determined to prove to her mother that she was ready for combat training, Diana had sewn together a crude copy of the Champion's uniform, worn it proudly before Hippolyta and Antiope and been utterly indignant when they both had burst out laughing.

"I told you you would grow into it," a voice spoke from the door way.

Diana put the gold-painted leather girdle down and smiled at her mother. "I did not believe you," she confessed.

"You have the wisdom of Athena," Hippolyta told her, coming into the room and looking fondly at the tiny uniform. "But not her patience."

Diana grinned. "Perhaps not. I'm not much of a diplomat," she agreed, remembering what she'd told Agent Faraday once.

"But you have grown into it," her mother said. "I am proud of you, Diana. When I would have chosen to turn the other cheek, you did the right thing. You saved the lives of billions through your disobedience. There is no one else who deserves to wear the armour more. Truly our champion."

Diana was not a woman who cried easily. In fact she could probably count the number she'd actually cried on her fingers. But there were definitely tears in her eyes now. She blinked furiously to clear her vision. For Hera's sake she was an Amazon, she did _not _cry! Hippolyta seemed to understand, and only pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.

When her mother said, "I love you," into her ear, it was too much for Diana's raging emotions, and the tears came whether she willed them or no.

The queen let her daughter sob into her shoulder for a few moments before drawing back and wiping the tears from Diana's smiling face. "Why are you weeping, my little sun and stars?"

Diana shook her head with a watery laugh. "I don't know!" She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, forcing herself to calm down. What by Olympus was wrong with her? She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. _It is simply the emotion of coming home. _Even if Themyscira wasn't really her home anymore.

In a few moments she felt calmer, and smiled at her mother. "Shayera will think we've abandoned her," she said.

Hippolyta smiled. "I doubt she'll notice we've gone; she seemed rather intent on devouring her meal."

Diana nodded; _that _she could understand. Their dinner with Wally had been cut short by both of them, and that was over fourteen hours ago now. No wonder she'd been feeling dizzy earlier. Her stomach chose to echo that and give a loud rumble.

Hippolyta laughed and patted her daughter's shoulder. "Come."

Strangely, though Diana had been ravenous, when she sat at the table she found she couldn't stomach the rich pheasant stew that her mother's chef had concocted, and in fact only the simple things looked palatable; pitta, salad and olives. Still, those things she ate with relish, and didn't stop until there wasn't a speck of bread left on her plate. She stopped with a sigh of satisfaction and looked up to find Shayera looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

Diana shrugged. "What?"

"Nothing. Just...not sure I've ever seen a princess eat like that," she grinned.

Once they'd eaten, they stayed and passed a pleasant evening with Hippolyta before they got back into Diana's jet and took off from the island. "I can see why you love it," Shayera commented as they left. She smiled at Diana. "I imagine it was a wonderful place to grow up."

Her voice held a wistful tone; nostalgia and almost bitterness mixed in. There was a story there, Diana thought, a less-than-happy childhood. She'd ask, one day, but for now that was territory too heavy for their fragile friendship to bear. "It was," she finally replied. "But very...sheltered. I was trained from birth to be a warrior, yet I'd never experienced any real conflict. The real world is better. Less idyllic, perhaps, but better."

Shayera was silent for a moment. "The real world is ugly and cruel, Diana," she finally said. "Themyscira...it's paradise."

Diana couldn't argue with that.

When they got back to the Watchtower, the two women said goodnight with smiles that were only a little tentative. Not yet feeling sleepy, Diana walked toward the cafeteria for an iced mocha, and ran into John coming the other way, his green gaze on Shayera.

"You two are talking again?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Diana nodded. "Yes. Nothing like a trip to Tartarus to straighten us both out." She smiled at him. "So where you headed? I'm going to get a mocha if you'd like to join me?"

He looked back to where Hawkgirl had disappeared around the corner, hesitated, then nodded. "Sure. Coffee sounds good," he sighed.

"Are you alright, John?"

He blinked as if he'd forgotten Diana was there, then nodded vigourously. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

They entered the commissary and got their drinks, then sat chatting quietly about the mission that the two women had just been on. Diana sighed. "And I need to do a mission report soon, or I'll have Bruce nagging at me."

John snorted. "Get him to do it for you; he owes you," he muttered.

Diana frowned. "Owes me?"

His expression took on the unmistakable expression of 'did-I-really-just-say-that-out-loud?', his mouth opening and closing in a manner reminiscent of a bemused fish. Before he could reply, though, Zatanna came over, put her dinner down, and then went back to Wonder Woman wrapping her arms around Diana's neck in a hug without saying anything. Diana wrinkled her nose. _Whoa! Easy on the perfume, Zee! _

She stepped back. "Thank you," she said finally.

Diana smiled. "You're welcome. How are you feeling now?"

The magician nodded. "Better. No one's hammering a spike through my head anyway. I take it you got the gates closed?"

"Yes," Diana told her. "With Shayera's help."

Zatanna sat down, smiling at GL, who drained his coffee. "Well I need to be going. See you ladies later."

Diana frowned slightly at his retreating back but turned back to Zatanna, taking a long slurp of her iced mocha. Her friend dug into her burger and fries with no further ado, wolfing down the greasy meal as though she were starving. Diana tried hard not to let her disgust show on her face; she didn't understand why it should be revolting; she loved a triple cheeseburger just as much as the next girl (and unlike the next girl did not have to worry about the three million calories that entailed). But for some reason the gods-awful _smell _that was coming from the meal was turning her stomach.

Mistaking the expression for pain, Zatanna frowned. "You weren't injured or anything were you?"

Diana shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's just... Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "It's nothing."

Still, it wasn't nothing, and she downed her mocha as quickly as possible, then left the commissary. She showered and went to bed. She slept well.

Right until she woke in the middle of the night with a roiling stomach, and had to leap out of bed in order to vomit several times, heaving and retching until she didn't have anything else to throw up. Groaning slightly, she stood up quickly and then put a hand to her head as a wave of dizziness hit her again. She closed her eyes until it had passed, then flushed the toilet with the other hand. The skin under her hand was hot, she realised suddenly, warmer than it normally was.

Diana poured herself some water and drank deeply. _Great_. So she was getting sick. Well, that would explain it. Of course...she'd never gotten sick, but her friends had. Temperature, nausea, fatigue. All the signs of flu.

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	9. Symptoms

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Short chapter here, but it was the right place to end it. You'll see what I mean when you get there ;)**

**Chapter Nine - Symptoms**

Diana turned off the bathroom light and went back to bed. By the time she woke up again with her alarm going off, her earlier self-diagnosis had been confirmed. She really, really didn't want to leave her bed. Odd, since four hours of sleep normally did the trick, but if she had flu it made sense. And her stomach still wasn't right, was still protesting loudly about the iced mocha she'd consumed. Diana vaguely remembered being told that milk was bad to drink if you were feeling nauseous, and cursed vividly.

She went to the toilet again, then crawled back into bed again, this time not emerging for another two hours, after which she felt better, but still slightly sick - and hungry, an odd paradox. She went to the cafeteria and had some breakfast, making sure to stay away from dairy. She had monitor duty this morning, and she was already running half an hour late for it.

A fact which had not gone unnoticed by Batman, who was already there. "You're late," he barked as soon as she came through the doors.

"I know that!" she shot back.

He stood up and crossed his arms. "Why?" he demanded.

"I wasn't feeling well this morning if you must know!" she spat, feeling irrational anger well up.

He stopped. "Are you alright?" he asked in a much softer tone.

"I'm _fine_," she emphasised, plonking herself down in front of the screens.

She was turned away, but knew he was hesitating since he didn't leave straight away. "Is there anything else?" she asked, the smell of Kevlar overpowering her senses. Hera, how did he live surrounded by it? She didn't know if the stench was worth its bullet-stopping capabilities.

He was silent, and then the doors hissed open and closed. Diana rolled her eyes. Impossible man.

She turned her attention to the images in front of her, but hadn't been watching for more than a few minutes before the doors hissed open again. The smell of Kevlar told her who it was, and she looked up at him in askance. He had a cup of black coffee in his hand, and put it down in front of her.

"I'll take over, Princess."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"If you're sick you need to go to J'onn and get checked out," he said. "You're no good to the League if you're not at full-strength."

Ah. The League - of course it was about that. Hera forbid he be concerned for _her_. "I'm fine, Batman. People get sick all the time."

"You don't," he pointed out. "Go to the infirmary."

Feeling that a little flirting might help her feel better, she raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "And just how are you planning to make me, Bruce?"

He glared. "Diana."

"Yes?" she smiled innocently.

He leaned down, one hand on either arm of her chair and parked his nose a few inches from her. She felt her heartbeat speed up, but made sure to keep her smile in place, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he affected her so much.

He moved even closer. "Well..." One hand moved from the chair to her arm, moving slowly up it at a tortuous pace. "First..." Her elbow, upper arm, "I'd do this..." She wondered how it was possible to become captivated by blank white lenses. "...and then..." His fingers were caressing lightly over her neck now, and she knew he'd feel how fast her pulse was. "...this," he finished.

His fingers hit two points on her neck, and Diana suddenly found she couldn't move. _Why that arrogant, deceptive-_

Her train of thought was cut off as he scooped her up out of the chair and carried her out of the monitor room. What the Hades was he doing? Not that she was finding it unpleasant being this close to Bruce - or she wouldn't be if the Kevlar hadn't been so strong - but how dare he do this to her?! She was Princess of the Amazons, and here she was being carted around like a sack of potatoes! As soon as she had her motor functions back she was going to kick some serious Bat-ass for doing this. In the meantime, she spent the short trip to the Infirmary thinking up unpleasant ways she could take her revenge the next time they sparred.

When Batman entered the medical bay carrying a conscious but unmoving Wonder Woman, even J'onn was surprised. Bruce said nothing bar a short "she's sick", before he laid her on one of the beds, restored her motor functions and left again.

Diana immediately stood up, intending to go after him and give him a piece of either her mind or her fists. J'onn put a hand up. "Diana, if you really are sick then I'll need to examine you."

She sighed. "Alright, but I don't think there's anything you can do," she said. "I'm running a slight temperature, I've been sick, tired and dizzy lately. All symptoms of flu, are they not?"

He nodded. "Yes. But there are other symptoms that you don't display." He came over with a thermometer and gestured for her to open her mouth. She did so and waited while he asked a series of questions.

"Any headaches?"

She shook her head.

"Muscle ache?"

And again.

"Chills?"

Again no.

"A cough?"

She shook her head a final time, and the thermometer beeped. J'onn took it from her and checked. "Hmm. You are running a degree higher than normal. If it's alright with you I'll take some blood for some tests, but I don't think you have full-blown flu."

"Yet," she added, grimacing at the idea. "Do what you have to do, J'onn. I'll be fine."

"But it will put Batman's mind at ease," he assured her.

Diana snorted. "He's not worried about me, J'onn. He's just worried my performance might have a bad effect on that of the League."

J'onn smiled as he pulled out a syringe. "I assure you that wasn't all he was worried about." He gently inserted into the vein at the crook of her elbow and drew some blood.

Diana watched calmly and then pressed a cotton wool pad against the pin-prick of the needle mark. "Thanks, J'onn."

"The results should take me about half an hour to process; in the meantime I suggest you get some rest," he said.

She nodded, though she didn't feel as fatigued as she had earlier. Now she only really wanted Marmite. Odd, since she'd never really liked it in the past. "Alright."

She left the Infirmary and headed to the commissary, then fixed herself a snack of a bagel smothered in the darkly-brown pungent spread. It tasted like ambrosia - and she'd hated it the last time she'd tried it. Shrugging, she decided it didn't matter and carried on eating. By the time she'd finished - and tried her luck with another iced mocha - J'onn had contacted her.

"Diana, I have your test results," he said over her com-link. "Can you come to the medical bay?"

"On my way," she said, leaving the cafeteria.

A few moments later, she entered the Infirmary and smiled at J'onn. He held a piece of paper in his hand, and gestured over to one of the beds. "Perhaps you should sit down."

Diana shot him a slightly alarmed look, but did as requested. "What is it? What's wrong with me?"

J'onn shook his head. "There is nothing wrong, exactly."

A few seconds later, her outraged shriek resounded through the Watchtower. "I'm _what?!_"

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	10. Meant To Be?

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Again short, sorry!**

**Chapter Ten - Meant To Be? **

Diana and J'onn had stayed in the medical bay together for hours, endlessly debating the possibilities. Eventually they settled upon the only one that made sense. Diana was left still sitting on the bed blinking numbly.

"Are you alright, Diana?" he asked.

She frowned. "How far along am I?"

"About six weeks, based on your hormone levels. I'd recommend you go to a doctor and get a scan soon."

She nodded. "I just...I mean it must be...but to suddenly find myself...pregnant..."

He nodded. "You're shocked. And angry?"

Diana nodded guiltily. "I know I shouldn't be, but...it would have been nice to be asked, you know?"

J'onn sat beside her. "I understand that, yet there seems to be little you can do about it now."

"No," she agreed. "I suppose I should tell people..."

"You don't have to tell the entire League," he pointed out. "But perhaps the founders would be a good idea."

She nodded. "Right. There's the meeting to discuss the modifications to the monitor duty schedule tomorrow, I'll use that. Everyone's going to be there, right?"

"I believe so, though I'm not sure Batman was planning to attend."

Diana bit her lip. How in Tartarus was she going to explain this to Bruce? _I guess this puts paid to anything between us, _she thought mournfully. Of course, he'd made it clear that he believed there couldn't be anything between them anyway...but what if he didn't believe her explanation? What if- She cut her thoughts off before J'onn picked them up. The most important thing now was the baby she carried. It didn't matter how Bruce felt, or anyone else for that matter.

"I'll ask him to," she sighed.

"Alright. He's still in the monitor womb."

She smiled, and pulled the huge Martian into a tight hug. "Thank you, J'onn."

He returned the embrace. "I'm always here if you need me."

"I know." Giving him a last smile, she left the Infirmary and headed to the monitor womb. Batman was still in there, running five different programmes at once, as well as a couple of scans in addition to monitoring Earth.

She tapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "I'm not sick, you can go now thanks."

"You're not sick?"

She shook her head. "No. Oh, but you know the meeting tomorrow?"

"What about it?" he asked, standing up.

"Can you come? There's...something I need to say."

For some reason, that made him stiffen. "What?" he asked tersely.

"Nothing that can't wait until then," she assured him, sitting in the chair he'd conveniently warmed for her and flicking through the different cameras monitoring the planet below.

He didn't move, instead taking a deep breath. "Princess, there's something I-"

The doors hissed open, and a scarlet blur stopped by Diana's chair. "Hey, Wondy."

She smiled. "Hi, Wally. You alright?"

"Good. On my way to the commissary, but I heard you and Shayera made up, so I thought I'd stop by and ask if you fancied a movie night later?"

Diana grinned and nodded. "Sounds good. I'll bring the popcorn."

The last few months hadn't been easy on Flash, not by a long shot. Before the invasion the three of them had had weekly movie nights, but after Shayera's return to the League he'd had to do everything twice - once with Diana and once with Shayera. She stood up and pulled him into an impulsive hug. He seemed surprised, but hugged back, and vanished.

It wasn't until the doors had closed that she realised Batman was nowhere to be seen.

---

As a criminal in Gotham City - at least one of the regulars - it was obvious when Batman had had a bad day. They were the days when they came out of it not with broken arms and concussions, but week-long comas and colostomy bags.

And Batman had been having a bad month.

The thug let out a groan and dropped to the ground, unconscious. Bruce slammed his head against a wall just to be sure. That was criminal number sixteen of tonight, and it was only one thirty. He still hadn't managed to work out his anger, mainly because he wasn't especially angry at _them_, but at himself.

Why - _why _- hadn't he just blurted it out? He could've waited until Flash was gone, he could have just said it. How hard was it just to say 'Diana, we need to talk', or 'Princess, there's something I haven't told you'? Damn it he was such a coward.

What the hell did she have to say tomorrow? Could she have worked it out? He cursed under his breath. No, impossible. She had no memory of it ever happening. And if she had somehow worked it out then she wouldn't bother with a public confrontation - she'd just track him to the ends of the earth in order to kick his ass. League protocol dictated that he fill out a mission report - but so far he'd managed to avoid doing so, and John hadn't either. Bruce suspected the reason for that was that he didn't like to think about Rex, about how his simple existence simultaneously complicated and _un_complicated John's entire life.

Bruce didn't like to think in terms of 'meant to be'. But Shayera and John...they were 'meant to be'; if Rex did nothing else then he proved that. Even in a future that was utterly screwed up, his parents had still found each other.

Bruce paused for a moment on top of the nearest church, looked out over his city and tried hard not to brood. He wasn't unaware that that could equally apply to he and Diana. His brain wouldn't let go of the old man's face when he spoke about her. One day, he was going to be so passionately in love with Diana that losing her would cripple him. Obviously the best course of action would be to make sure he didn't fall in love with her. Which inevitably meant leaving the Justice League altogether.

But if, in that future, John and Shayera still had their love, and it was 'meant to be', then he and Diana were 'meant to be', if only for one night. But they'd already had their one night. Was that all they were going to get?

It wasn't until the ear of the gargoyle he was resting his hand on came away in his fist that he woke up. He'd just tell her. Tomorrow, after the meeting, he'd say 'Diana, I need to talk to you', and then just spit it out. Besides, if John's glares got any harder then he'd have two holes bored into the side of his head soon.

On the street below, a police car wailed past. Batman pulled out his grapple, and followed. He arrived (naturally) ten minutes before the cops, and already had the gang members bound and unconscious by the time they got there.

After that it was two would-be rapists, four burglars and a drug dealer before the Riddler decided that a breakout from Arkham was due. Thankfully, he only got fifteen minutes away from the prison before Batman caught up with him.

In that time, he'd managed to blow up four empty stores and one not-so-empty 7/11. Three innocent people in the hospital.

It was four thirty seven am before he got home, with the meeting at midday GMT. Which was five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Which gave him a grand total of two hours sleep. Damn Diana for having something to say. It had better be _really _important.

The Batglare was very firmly fixed in place when he teleported onboard the Watchtower, and during the meeting he didn't even pretend to look at Clark. Was it in Kryptonian DNA that they _had _to waffle? _A list of the modifications would do - here's the list, take a vote on which ones we like, then we can all go home. _He glanced at Diana, who was tapping her fingernails nervously on the table. He frowned. Nervous? Diana? She caught his gaze and smiled as if she were reassuring _him_ about something, and stopped tapping.

Finally, after _much _pointless hyperbole that had nothing to do with _anything_, Superman finished his speech. "Right, I think that's everything."

"Actually, I have an announcement to make," Diana said.

"Oh, go right ahead," Clark smiled.

"The goddesses have blessed me," she said simply. "I'm going to have a child."

Everyone's jaw – apart from J'onn's – dropped open, which was a good thing, since no one really noticed Bruce's reaction. It wasn't possible. It- it- It didn't make sense. It just _wasn't _possible.

It _really _wasn't.

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	11. The Truth

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next update, and Bruce finally tells Diana what really happened. Enjoy! **

**Chapter Eleven - The Truth**

After a moment, Shayera got her larynx working again. "H- _how_? I mean…who's the father?!"

At this, John turned his head and shot a glare at Bruce. Bruce couldn't have cared less – she- she was- _what_?!

Diana shook her head. "There is no father. That's what I mean when I say the goddesses have blessed me."

Clark finally spoke. "Are you sure?" he asked, sounding a little dubious. "I mean-"

"Yeah," GL added, nodding. "There has to be have been a man involved somewhere, right, _Batman_?"

For once, the Batglare didn't seem to be having an effect, but luckily for Bruce, J'onn broke in. "Ordinarily I would agree, John, but there is no evidence of intercourse in Diana's memory."

Bruce winced.

"And there are no gaps in her memory either that indicate she may have been drugged and sexually assaulted."

Another wince.

J'onn summed up. "I can only come to the same conclusion as Diana – her goddesses have indeed placed a child within her."

"Just like that?" Wally asked, sounding sceptical.

Diana shrugged and nodded. "I can see no other explanation."

"And…you're ok with that?" Shayera asked. "I wouldn't be."

"Well they must have had a reason," the princess replied. "If they think I am ready to be a mother…then I accept that responsibility."

"As if you don't have enough responsibility?"

"Yes, but defending the world is not like raising a child," Diana smiled. "And truthfully…I did not think I would ever have the opportunity to become a mother, so I am grateful to Hera that I now have that chance. Obviously my involvement with the Justice League will have to be scaled back, but other Leaguers manage to balance this and young families, so I am certain I will be able to."

"Where will you live?" GL asked, giving up on Bruce saying anything.

"Well obviously I cannot raise a child up here," Diana admitted, "but I have some money saved-"

"From where?" Clark asked.

"A few years ago I created a false identity, with Batman's help, and wrote several 'fantasy' books – actually the truth behind Greek myths," she explained. "They sold well; there's enough money for a house and things…I should be able to give us both a comfortable life."

There didn't seem to be anything to say to that. "Have you got an doctor?" John finally asked. "You'll need one."

She nodded. "I know, and I'm looking at the moment. It'll be slightly difficult, obviously, since I imagine Wonder Woman being pregnant will cause a few headlines, but that can't be helped. Man's World has the advantage on medical care."

They all nodded, and somewhere in the part of his mind that was still working, Batman thought of Leslie. She'd be discreet - she always was when he needed her to be, and if she didn't want to take the pregnancy on then he was sure she'd be able to recommend someone who would.

He didn't say anything through the rest of the meeting, and didn't move once they'd all left - all, that is, except Diana. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't. "Bruce?" she asked in a very worried tone of voice. "I...Are you alright?"

He nodded.

"I wasn't sure you would be," she said, apparently galvanised by his lack of speech. "I mean...with me suddenly being pregnant...I thought you might not-"

Suddenly the doors opened again, and John stepped through. "Uh, Diana? Can you give us a minute? I need to talk to Batman about something."

She stood. "Of course, John." Her footsteps stopped again, and he knew she was looking at him, but he still couldn't move. Finally, Diana left the room without another word.

John came further in, and Bruce finally spoke.

"Don't say it."

GL only folded his arms. "So you _are _going to tell her."

"Of course I'm going to tell her," Batman snapped.

"Good. You _should _have told her before now anyway."

"What did I just say?" he growled.

"No, no way. I'm not backing off this time, Bruce," John replied. "You might be my friend, but so is Diana. And the way you've been treating her – even before we went to Oklahoma – it was low. Really low. I'm giving you twelve hours."

At this, Bruce froze. "You're _what_?"

"I'm giving you twelve hours to tell her, or I will."

"You don't have the right to-"

"You haven't had the right to keep it from her for the past five weeks and it hasn't stopped you," John pointed out.

There was another silence. There really was nothing to say to that – he was right. So Batman did what Batman always did when (on the very rare occasion) he was wrong. He glared, and left.

---

Twelve hours. For about an hour, he tried and failed to plan what he was going to say. But it only really brought one thing home. Trying to balance the factors made him think about the things that had happened between them, the things that he'd done – or not done – with Diana. Jesus. John was right, what the hell had given him the right to hide it?

She was going to kill him.

Ok, so no plan.

He took a deep breath and activated his com-link. "Batman to Wonder Woman."

There was a slight pause. "Go ahead."

"Can you come down to the Cave? I need to speak with you."

"Alright," she said, sounding surprised. "I just have one thing to take care of, I'll be down in about half an hour-"

"Now," he interrupted. "…please, Diana. It's important."

"Oh, ok. I'll transport down."

While he waited, he thought. The only explanation he could find was that the universe really did hate him. There was no way Diana should be pregnant. With the timeline restored they'd never slept together in the first place - it wasn't physically possible. Except...it obviously was. The shift in timelines had obviously only pressed the reset button psychologically with her, rather than physically too. It really wasn't fair.

He stopped and went the other way. Or it was exactly fair. Maybe Fate really was giving him a push in the right direction. He'd ignored Diana, Alfred, John...he couldn't ignore the fact that in about eight months he'd be a father. To a baby, not an already-formed adoptive child. _Holy mother of God - I'm going to have a _pregnant Amazon _on my hands. _Though, truth be told, if there was anyone he'd pick to be mother of his child...who better than Wonder Woman?

He forced himself to stop pacing before he eroded a rut into the rock floor, then looked around. He couldn't have this conversation in the Cave, for God's sake. She needed to be comfortable- and- have some of Alfred's _tea _and-

Dear God. What the hell was he going to tell Alfred?

The sound of the teleport made his stomach drop. He turned to find Diana standing a few feet away, a nervous smile on her face. "Hi."

"Hi." He suddenly realised that though it now looked as though he'd be forced to tell her in the Batcave, he certainly couldn't tell her as Batman. He'd taken the cowl off before he realised it.

"Bruce, I know this must be odd for you, and believe me it is for me, but..." She walked toward him, shaking her head. "...there is no one else, Bruce. I've never-"

"I know," he interrupted. "Believe me, I know."

She nodded. "Good." Then she cocked her head. "When you say you know...How? Other than the fact that I've told you? You never take anything on faith without hard evidence to back it up."

He nodded; that was true enough. Alright then. Cards on the table. _Start from the beginning. _

"Diana, I know you're telling the truth because..._I'm_…"

"You're what?" she asked. He gestured at her stomach, and comprehension dawned on her face, her blue eyes widening to an almost impossible size. "You mean you-" He nodded. "_You _are the child's father?" Her mouth dropped open. "How?" she demanded, and then, "When?" She shook her head to clear it of the confusion. It didn't look like it was working. "When did we-?"

He ran a hand over his face. _Keep going_. If he chickened out now, he'd never muster up the courage to start again. "Maybe…maybe you should sit down."

"Maybe you should not tell me what to do!" she snapped, pacing now. "How could you hide this from me?!"

Anger was in her face, but it was the hurt in her eyes that got to him. "I wasn't trying to hide it from you, I just…" He shrugged helplessly. "…had no idea how to explain what happened."

"What _did _happen? Now, Bruce!" she added sharply when he didn't say anything.

If he'd been any other man, he would have flinched then. He took a deep breath. "Alright. You seduced me."

Her jaw dropped open further, if that were possible. "_I _sed-"

"Yes. You did," he said quickly.

She narrowed her gaze, and he kept his face open, hiding nothing for once. "When?" she asked.

Swallowing, he began. "Six weeks ago, there was a break-in at the Watchtower," he started. Diana sat down, still looking very unimpressed. "You, John and I tracked the thief down, but he opened some sort of portal and escaped. We followed."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" she interrupted.

"I'm getting to that," he replied.

"Well where did we emerge?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Oklahoma," he said. "But in 1879." Seeing her opening her mouth to interrupt again, he ploughed on. "Anyway, the thief had been captured and his technology stolen by someone else. And we – along with some help – went to get it back." Now he hesitated, reacting to the memory. How would she react? _Only one way to find out. _"But the night before, you – we – had decided that since we were…in another time…there was nothing to lose if we…"

"If we had sex?" she finished bluntly.

He winced. 'Had sex' was a really…emotionless way of putting it. "I guess so."

"You still haven't answered my question," she pointed out. Leaning forward, her expression softened and her voice went quiet. "Bruce, if we decided we had nothing to lose, if we _made love_, then why don't I remember it?"

"Because of what happened the following day," he said heavily. "We tracked the stolen technology and we got it back, but…I underestimated the original thief, and he managed to take it off us, and escape to the future." She shifted, frowning now in curiosity. "To a future where he ruled the world. The Justice League was all but extinct, and increasing damage was being done to the very fabric of the universe." He looked up again, drinking in the sight of her, needing to remind himself that she was here, and she was alright. "You…faded. Right in front of my eyes."

"Faded?" she asked.

He nodded. "As if you never existed," he whispered, not trying to conceal the pain in his voice. After a moment of just looking at her, he cleared his throat. "Obviously Lantern and I fixed it. But you have no memory of what happened. What passed between us."

He was expecting her to take a minute to absorb all that, but she didn't. Instead anger crept back onto her features. "And you didn't think I deserved to know? You didn't think that- that _this _could happen?" she asked, gesturing at her abdomen. "Answer me!" she yelled, standing up. Her eyes closed, and after a few seconds her shoulders relaxed. "Bruce. Did you not think this was a possibility?" she asked, as if he had no idea what could result from unprotected sex.

He had known, but that didn't mean that knowledge had been anywhere near the forefront of his mind _then_. "Well of course I knew it was a _possibility_-"

Just like that, the thin crust of calm on top of her rage cracked again. It was mesmerising – like watching a volcano erupt ."So why the- the – _fuck,_" she burst out, "didn't you tell me?!" He blinked, having no idea where on Earth she'd learned that word, but Diana wasn't done with berating him yet. "You know what," she exclaimed, fists clenched at her sides, "you didn't even need to tell me, you could have just slipped the morning-after pill into an iced mocha or something!"

"Do honestly think I could do that?" he demanded, aghast at the idea. "Diana, if I'd thought for even a _second _you might be pregnant, there is no way I could do that without your knowledge! That's my child too, how could I-"

"So you're just content to lie to and deceive its mother?! You know what, Bruce, I know why you didn't tell me! Because you're afraid," she spat. "Because if I knew what we'd done, you thought I might demand a relationship with you! Because you couldn't even comprehend the idea that maybe all I wanted from you was your body!"

"Is it?" he asked instinctively.

Her look of disgust said it all. "I'm leaving." She turned and stormed to the edge of the precipice, intending to fly up the tunnel for the Batwing.

He caught her wrist. "Diana-"

She wrenched it out of his grasp. "You know what hurts most, Bruce?" she said. "You shouldn't have told me because you were my lover. You should have told me because you were my friend." With that, she took off, flying up into the shadows and leaving him watch her, knowing that he had no right to call her back.

It was the last time he'd see her for seven months.

---

She didn't cry when she left the Batcave, she didn't cry when she offered a terse 'goodbye' without stopping to Kal and the others, she just got into her jet, pointed it toward the Atlantic Ocean and sped towards sanctuary. She landed just off the island and flew the rest of the way, alighting in the central forum and sprinting into the queen's audience chamber.

"Diana," her mother greeted, sounding surprised but pleased at the same time. With typical mother's intuition, she saw the expression on Diana's face and turned to her guards. "You may go."

The two warriors bowed. "Yes, my queen."

Once they were gone, Hippolyta turned to her daughter. "I was about to contact you anyway, but what brings you here?"

"I'm here to request asylum," Diana said simply, before elaborating. "I know that I am banished from Themyscira, which is why I intend to return to Man's World, eventually."

"Why do you seek such asylum?" Hippolyta asked, still on the queen side of her dual roles to Diana. The mother made her add, "What has happened?", a touch of concern in her voice.

"I..." Diana swallowed and then squared her shoulders. She had done nothing to be ashamed of. She had taken a man as a lover, yes, but a hero of Themyscira. "I am with child, Mother. And I wish to carry the baby to term here, on Themyscira." She bowed. "I humbly beg you to allow me to do so, my queen."

Hippolyta's expression had frozen in surprised, but she rose and took her daughter's shoulders. "As your mother every fibre in me grants your request." Diana didn't smile. The last time Hippolyta had said 'as your mother', it had been followed by her exile.

Her trepidation proved right as Hippolyta continued. "But I do not know if this may be possible. When Penelope and Andromache became pregnant in Man's World the gods forbade them from ever returning during their lifetimes."

Diana nodded. "I know, yet-"

"We will not do so now, Hippolyta," a voice interrupted.

Mother and daughter turned, and then immediately dropped to their knees before the glowing woman who had appeared in the chamber. "Great Hera."

"Rise, both of you," the goddess said softly. When they did so, she smiled gracefully in a maternal fashion that felt like a warm hug. She turned to the princess and stepped closer, touching her chin softly. "Diana, you may stay on Themyscira as long as your mother wishes it. Your exile is completely rescinded, as we have already told her."

Diana swallowed, feeling tears threaten again. "Thank you, great Hera. Thank you so much."

Hera nodded. "You are most welcome, child." Her warm hand settled on Diana's stomach, and a tingle shot through her. "The outcome of this pregnancy is of great interest to us."

Diana blinked in surprise, and bowed again with her mother. Hera acknowledged them with a nod. "Farewell, my children."

With a flash of white light, she was gone. Hippolyta turned to her daughter a drew her into an embrace. "Welcome home, my little sun and stars."

Diana promptly burst into tears. Again.

---

**A/N: I know we all like to torture Bruce, but I feel like I'm taking it a little too far at this point...Review please! A/N: I know we all like to torture Bruce, but I feel like I'm taking it a little too far at this point...Review please!**


	12. Tell Me About My Son

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! This is a very, very short chapter, but it fitted I think, just a little snippit - Diana will be back in the next chapter but I felt like I needed to show a little of what Bruce is going through in the seven months she's gone. **

**Chapter Twelve - Tell Me About My Son**

"Tell me about my son."

For several seconds, Batman was silent, and only looked at Shayera. So John had finally told her. Images flashed through his mind. Terry. Warhark, John changing, his older self. Diana...gone.

Of course...Diana was gone now anyway.

Pushing that aside like he had every day for the past six months, Bruce swallowed. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," she answered simply.

He saw moisture glimmering in her eyes, and understood. Whatever John had told her, he'd made it clear that there was no chance for them, at least not now. Shayera wanted to know all about the son she might never have.

"His name was Rex," Bruce continued. "And his eyes were green, just like yours. Shaped exactly the same. Built physically like John. Mechanical wings, not organic ones like yours."

"Mechanical? How is that possible?" she asked.

Batman shook his head. "No idea, I didn't have the time to examine them closely. His armour made it clear he had Thanagarian roots. You must have taught him well - the way he fought, it was...like watching a male version of you."

She looked down and nodded. "What happened?" she asked, her voice choked with the sobs that she wasn't letting show.

So he told her. Her told her all he could remember, leaving nothing out. By the end of it they were both fighting the emotion. Part of his mind was scoffing at the idea, but the rest of him was too tired to deny it. His arms were literally _aching _for Diana. And she was on Themyscira. Not for the first time, not for the hundredth time, the urge welled up to go after her, wrath of the gods or not.

Alfred would know what to do. There was probably some ancient kind of etiquette code that he should be following for this exact situation. Though there was only one reason he hadn't told Alfred. Because he knew exactly what his expression would be. Or rather, what his total _lack _of expression would be. His mouth would thin, his brow would pucker only slightly and he'd say 'I see, Master Bruce', or something equally condescending and disapproving to make Bruce feel like a naughty school boy. Except school boys could be forgiven, their transgressions forgotten since they were only children.

He wasn't. And he'd disappointed Alfred so many times in the past that he wasn't sure he could be forgiven this time. Even more so because it concerned Diana, and in Alfred's eyes, there was no one more qualified to be mistress of Wayne Manor. And Bruce had screwed up probably the best - if not the only - chance he was going to get. He'd rather face the Joker, Bane, the Riddler and Poison Ivy all at once than have to tell Alfred that.

Of course, Alfred, being Alfred, knew something was wrong. How could he not? If it came to a choice, then Batman was the real him. But in the last few months, Batman had pretty much taken over. It was so much easier that way. Batman wasn't emotional, he didn't need anyone and so therefore didn't miss anyone.

Batman didn't miss Wonder Woman.

Batman didn't think about the fact that he'd turned Diana's whole viewpoint on imminent motherhood on its head. One moment she had a child gifted to her by the gods, and the next it was an accident resulting from a night that had never technically happened?

Batman didn't have to listen to the fact that Bruce's heart called for the princess constantly.

He suppressed a groan.

What if she never came back? What if she gave birth to and raised their child there? What if he never saw it, boy or girl?

He looked back at Shayera. _Tell me about my son. _

Bruce never, never wanted to have to say those words.

---

**A/N: Review please! **


	13. Still Pregnant

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And to make up for the short chapter last time, I've got a long one for you. So here's Diana's return and Alfred's reaction. Enjoy! **

**Chapter Thirteen - Still Pregnant**

This was torture. Everyone knew how much Flash hated to stay still for long. But extending the monitor duty shift to eight hours per shift? It was _agony_. Batman had apparently decided that since he'd spent the last six months acting like a bear with a sore head, everyone else deserved to suffer as well. If it had been anyone else, Wally would have simply refused. He was instead reduced to a string of bitter mutterings while on duty.

Everyone in the League knew exactly why Bats had been in such a foul mood, of course, and it came in the form of an Amazon princess. Wally had a theory that Bats was pissed that Wondy had a bun in the oven and he hadn't been the one to put it there. And to top that off, Diana had disappeared to Themyscira.

With a sigh, Wally collected up the cards in front of him, then stared moodily at the rapidly warming iced mocha in front of him. Without company, he didn't have light-hearted whirlwind of reputation to keep up, and at heart Wally only missed Diana. He wasn't allowed to express that to anyone else: Wally was very much aware that his role in the League, at least amongst the founders, was to keep the situation light. To keep everyone else from falling into depression over the fact that she was gone. It was true that though they'd needed to expand the League to cover the whole globe, but with the seven of them they basically had the whole package.

Supes brought the innocence to them.

Shayera the feminine cynicism.

GL the discipline.

J'onn the heart.

Wally the humour.

Bats the leadership, even if he didn't admit it.

Diana...Diana was their grace. Their princess.

And they all missed her. The whole League missed her.

Not for the first time, Wally pulled up a map of the Atlantic Ocean. Where the satellite photos said there was nothing, a tiny red dot pulsed gently. Themyscira. Wally looked at it and then exited the programme, going back to his duty. _C'mon, Diana,_ he thought. _Come home. _

For once, it seemed like Diana's gods were listening to someone not of Amazon origin. Within five minutes, a call came in to the Watchtower. It was on a private frequency - with the passcode 003, it could only be one person. Wally's fingers flew across the keyboard.

"Diana? Oh-my-God-Diana-it's-really-you-I-can't-believe-it-I-really-miss-you-are-you-alright-are-you-still-on-Themyscira-how's-the-baby-"

The image of Diana's smiling face laughed onscreen. "Wally, slow down!"

"Sorry," he said quickly, "but I've really missed you and-"

"Still talking too fast, Flash."

Wally nodded and stopped talking altogether. Diana smiled. "I know, I've missed you too. But the good news is I'm coming back, later today in fact."

"What?! That's great news! When? Are you on your way back now? How long-"

"Wally!"

He shut his mouth and made a zipping motion with his fingers to indicate he was going to be quiet. Diana smiled. "I'm not on the way back yet, but I will be soon. I just called to make sure that my access codes still worked before I try and access the Watchtower."

He nodded. "Alright then," Diana said. "In that case I'll see you in about an hour, once I've said goodbye to Mother and my sisters."

"Hey, Wondy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still pregnant?"

She nodded. "Yes, Wally, I'm still pregnant."

"I call dibs on godfather!"

She laughed and cut the connection. Wally's fingers flew into action, accessing the PA throughout the Watchtower. "Superman, J'onn, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Batman to the monitor womb, faster than I could get here!"

They didn't get there as fast as he could. But they got there pretty damn quickly. Shayera arrived first, then J'onn and GL, with Superman coming in last. "Batman's in Gotham," he said. "Don't think he'll be coming back up for anything less than a class eight emergency."

"Well this is at _least _a class seven!" Wally said.

"What the hell's going on?" John asked.

"Diana's coming back!"

There was silence for a moment before they all erupted into various expressions of joy, asking the same questions Wally had to the princess earlier. He explained as best he could, and then frowned.

"We really should call Bats."

John nodded. "I'll go and do it." Considering he'd just been told one of his closest friends and allies was returning after months away, GL didn't seem all that joyful, Wally noted. Before he could question his friend, John had left the monitor womb.

---

"Bruce."

The growl that answered him was not happy. "What, Lantern."

"You need to come up to the Watchtower."

"Can't. Busy."

"It's important."

"Handle it."

"But it concerns-"

"Batman out."

"-Diana..."

John tried again, but there was no answer. Batman was gone, and he wasn't coming back in contact anytime soon. _I should just have started the conversation with Diana's name. _Well, if nothing else, then he was sure that Diana would have no problem telling Bruce. She wasn't exactly one to shirk from a challenge. Alright, so Bruce was on his own. Now he could just be happy that Diana was coming back.

He went back to the monitor womb and waited with the others. It was only about twenty minutes before the alert for an incoming shuttle came from the hanger bay. All five of them went down, and waited for the airlock to close before they went inside.

Diana's red jet sat there with the engines ticking down. With a pneumatic hiss, the ramp lowered, and the Amazon princess herself appeared. Since she was still pregnant, she'd forgone her usual uniform, wearing instead a plain white chiton that came to her knees and some leather sandals. She still carried the Lasso of Truth on her hip.

All of their mouths fell open as she stopped in front of them with a slightly nervous expression. None of them were smiling.

It was Shayera who spoke first. "Diana, you- You're-"

"_Huge_," Flash said bluntly.

Diana's face relaxed into a smile. "I know." She cleared her throat. "It's to be expected, though. I'm having twins."

There was the faint sound of five jaws dropping open. "_Twins_?" Clark spluttered.

She nodded. "Yes."

"When did you find out?" Shayera asked.

"Aphrodite came to me in a dream," Diana told them.

It was true, the goddess of love had come to her and told her she would be having twins - and also had commanded her to return to Man's World in order to give birth. Diana had obeyed, not least because giving birth to twins in an environment with no advanced medical care could prove very dangerous. The second reason was that she couldn't ignore the pricklings of her conscience anymore.

"And there've been no complications?" Clark asked anxiously.

She shook her head. "No, as far as I know. Odd cravings though, some of which I couldn't appease on Themyscira, so could we continue this in the commissary?"

They all nodded, and made their way through the corridors. Mercifully, they were fairly empty, but they all knew the commissary wasn't going to be. Diana walked next to J'onn for a while. Unlike the others, they'd been able to keep in contact telepathically during her absence, but it was good to see him anyway.

_You may have a rival for the Oreos, _she joked mentally.

J'onn smiled. _I've made sure to stock up_, he told her. _And the commissary have plenty of mayonnaise as well. _

She grinned. _Do you think the others will be disgusted?_

He shook his head. _Chocolate cookies and mayonnaise does not seem too bad to me, but then I hardly follow normal human eating habits. _

_True. _

Needless to say, the sight of a very heavily pregnant Wonder Woman entering the cafeteria caused more than a few stares. And a long, loud silence. Diana took it all in her stride. She smiled, and waved. "Hello, everyone."

Superman cleared his throat. "Obviously I don't have to tell you all that this _doesn't leave the Watchtower_. For any reason." The glare he finished up with wasn't as good as Batman could deliver. But the Man of Steel could still stare down most of the heroes there. Respect for Wonder Woman took care of the ones not intimidated by Superman, and they all nodded.

Slowly the chatter started again, and though the stares didn't stop, the talking filled the cafeteria once more. Diana went toward the food, and found herself before presented with a tray full of Oreos and mayonnaise. "J'onn told us you were coming back," the cafeteria lady said. "And congratulations, ma'am."

Diana took it with a smile. "Thank you."

It didn't take long to go through her pregnancy with the others, though she left out some of the cravings and hormonal changes she'd been going through. Like the increased libido. There had been so many times in the last seven months she'd been on the verge of flying to Gotham, screwing Bruce senseless and then knocking him out because she was still severely pissed off. The explanation did take slightly longer than it might have done though, mainly because Diana had to stop three times to go to the bathroom.

That had faded, though. Now she wasn't pissed off; she was only hurt. She understood why he'd waited so long to tell her, but that didn't make it right, and what she'd said to him still held true. He should have told her as a friend, not as a lover. They weren't ok yet, not by a long shot.

Eventually the others - except John - drifted away, all with hugs and expressing how glad they were about her being back. Diana felt tired about more than two hours of almost constant speaking, and got up as well to go nap.

"Uh, Diana? Can I talk to you?"

She smiled. "Of course, John." She sat down again. "Better make it quick though, because I peed fifteen minutes ago, and I'm going to have to do it again in a few moments."

He gave an uneasy laugh. "Right. Um, the thing is, I know."

"You know?"

"I know that Batman is…"

Her face fell. "Oh. How?" she asked shortly.

"Well, I was with you two remember? Was pretty obvious what had happened, and after you suddenly get pregnant…" John shifted in his seat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Diana. About how long it took for him to tell you. I tried to persuade him for weeks, and I-"

She leaned forward and hugged him as best she could with an ever-expanding belly. "Thank you, John. Do the others still believe that there is no father?"

He nodded. "Yes, as far as I know."

She bit her lip. "Do you think I should go see him?"

"That's up to you," John said. "But they're his kids too, however much of a jackass he's been. Diana…what happened? Why'd you really take off?"

"If I hadn't gotten pregnant, he would never have told me what happened between us," she said unhappily. "And even if he was unprepared to offer me a relationship – even if I were willing to ask for one – he still should have _told _me."

"I know." He glanced at the clock. "Damn, I have monitor duty. Listen, Diana, before you make any decisions – look up Bruce Wayne's activities for the last six months will you? His social ones."

She frowned. "John-"

"Trust me," was all he said before leaving.

Diana leaned back in her seat and ran her hands over her rounded stomach. _Come, little sun and little star. Let us go look up your father_.

She made her way to her still-empty quarters, wrinkling her nose slightly at the stale air. Turning the air-conditioning on, she sat down on the bed, and picked up the laptop computer that she'd left there more than six months before.

A few moments later, she was on the wireless network of the Watchtower, looking on Google. Typing in 'Bruce Wayne' would undoubtedly bring up Wikipedia, which wouldn't tell her anything she didn't already know, so she tried National Enquirer, and then went through all the gossip magazines she could think of.

In the earlier ones, notice was taken of the fact that Bruce Wayne had suddenly disappeared from the social scene totally, wondering what had happened to their favourite playboy that he wasn't having cocaine-fuelled orgies anymore. Diana snorted when she read that one. Bruce didn't even drink.

As she read through the issues, it didn't take her long to pick up on something; Bruce - unless they were commenting on his absence - wasn't mentioned in any of them the longer time went on. He hadn't gone to any major fundraisers, he hadn't dated any movie stars, he had rarely left the manor apparently, apart from on business. He was currently in Hong Kong for a merger.

Was it possible that was because of her? Because he felt guilty? She pursed her lips. That sounded like Bruce. But... Diana sighed. It would take a lot for him not to uphold the playboy image, she knew that - or apparently it would take her. Was it because she was pregnant? _Well...I have a goddess's command to obey. _Whatever the reasons for his social disappearance, she needed to see him.

For a moment her stomach turned at the thought - she couldn't just pop back into his life after six months of being missing. She needed a way to Bruce. She smiled as an idea struck her, then moved to the phone that all Leaguers had installed in their rooms.

"Wayne residence."

Diana felt her face relax into a smile at just hearing the crisp English accent. "Alfred? It's Diana."

There was a tiny pause. "Miss Diana! How wonderful to hear from you! How have you been, my dear?"

"Well, thank you, Alfred. I hate to be an inconvenience but may I come and see you?"

"Of course," he answered, sounding genuinely delighted. "I'm afraid Master Bruce is in Hong Kong for the week-"

"I know," she replied. "But I want to see you."

"In that case I'll be only too thrilled to welcome you. Will you be arriving in the usual manner?"

The 'usual manner" was for her to transport down from the Watchtower to about a mile offshore from Wayne Manor, then fly the rest of the way, keeping close to the water. It was the least visible method she had of getting there, but in her current state, flying was extremely taxing on her body for some reason. As was using any of her powers, for that matter. She suspected it was possibly because either one or both of the children weren't metas, though she couldn't be sure until they were born.

"No," Diana said. "You'll understand when I get there. I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

"Alright. Take care, Your Highness."

"I will. Bye, Alfred."

She made her way to the hanger bay, then walked up the ramp onto her jet. Thank Hera for it being invisible. It didn't take her long to fly down to the east coast of America and then land on the immense back lawn of Wayne Manor. She didn't move from the cockpit for several minutes. Hera, she was more nervous about seeing him than she had been about telling her mother. She'd had decades of experience dealing with Hippolyta's wrath, but this was _Alfred_.

"No, Diana. You're a big girl. He's Alfred, he's not going to shout at you." A wry smile crossed her face. "If anything he's going to shout at Bruce."

She got out of the plane and made her way to the back door, then knocked, knowing that Alfred would probably be in the kitchen. Sure enough, the door opened within seconds. "Miss Di- Oh my goodness!"

Diana grinned while she felt her face heat up. "Hello, Alfred."

He recovered well. "I think you had better come in, my dear."

She nodded, but to her horror found herself bursting into tears instead. "I'm sorry, Alfred, I just- It's just- It's really good to see you!"

The Englishman made a gentle clucking sound with his tongue and embraced her, putting an arm around her shoulders and guiding her inside. Diana found herself seated at the kitchen island with a mug of tea and a handkerchief in her hand. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Thank you."

"Now, perhaps you should explain to me…your condition."

"Isn't it obvious?" Diana asked softly.

"Well, yes. But is…"

"Yes," she confirmed, knowing what his next question would be.

"Oh my. And he…"

"Knows, yes."

Alfred's fingers tightened convulsively around his teacup, but he had no other reaction. "Ah, the bloody fool."

"Maybe," Diana allowed. "But…in the end he did the right thing, and I was the one who ran back to Themyscira."

"Did he come after you?" Alfred asked sharply.

"No, but if he had I would have kicked him all the way across the Atlantic."

"Humph."

Diana had to crack a smile. "Don't be too hard on him, Alfred."

"I think perhaps you should start for the beginning."

Diana took a deep breath and began. Twenty minutes later, and after more tears, she was done, and Alfred's aloof façade had merged into the gentle father that she imagined he'd always been for Bruce. "Oh, you children do manage to make a bloody mess of things."

Diana snorted. "Yeah, I know."

"May I ask what you're going to do now?"

"Well…first aim is to give birth safely. Everything good that happens after that is a bonus."

Alfred nodded. "Good plan." He hesitated for a moment. "I believe he loves you," he said finally. "Now that I know the full picture, a lot of things make sense."

"Like the fact that he's been avoiding the spotlight for the last six months?" Diana asked, then explained how she knew. "I Googled it when I got back. At John's suggestion." She paused. "Do you think he felt guilty?"

Alfred fixed her with a look, one eyebrow raised. Diana caught his meaning and nodded. "Right. Bruce Wayne. Does nothing but feel guilty." She sighed. "I think I…Oh I don't know. I did love him, once. And I…still feel…_something_. But there are things that need to be said." Unconsciously, she stroked her abdomen. "They are his children. That's why I came to see you. No matter what happens between Bruce and I, I will not deprive my children of their father. Or you."

Alfred blinked several times, his eyes suddenly bright, but when he spoke his voice was perfectly steady. "Thank you, Miss Diana. That means a great deal to me – and I'm certain it will to Master Bruce as well."

Diana smiled. "I'm glad."

They lapsed into silence for a while while they both thought over what on Earth was going to happen now. Obviously Bruce needed to know she was back, but when? And how? She couldn't just turn up at the next founders' meeting without seeing him first. Of course if she did that then likely the Bat wouldn't allow him to completely lose his temper with her...

"Could you do me a favour, Alfred?"

"Of course."

"When Bruce gets back, could you...persuade him to come up to the Watchtower?"

Alfred's tiny smile could only be described as conspiratorial. "I'm sure I could manage that much."

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	14. Two Apologies

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I had an anonymous one from 'Dark Knight and Justice League' that I wanted to answer, so the rest of you skip down ;)**

**Firstly - thanks for the constructive criticism, it's always useful, and I'm very happy that you liked 'Empathy'. Honestly I hadn't been aware that it seemed like I was drifting away from the show with my characterisations, so thanks for the heads up and I'll try to rein it back in. **

**I do however want to take issue with one of your points - about me portraying Diana as a victim and Bruce as cruel. In a story like this one then because of the storyline of the 'Once and Future Thing', Diana has to be somewhat of a victim - she doesn't remember any of it, so to a certain extent she's dependent on someone else to fill her in. I wouldn't say that Bruce is being cruel, since I agree with you; he isn't at all. I'd be interested to know where you saw cruelty? **

**In regards to Wonder Woman being a 'sweetheart' that everyone loves...sorry, but what's wrong about that? As far as I know in the show, it's only Shayera who seems to have a problem with her by the time we get to the end of JLU, and that's only just after 'Starcrossed'.**

**Of course Batman cares deeply about her - no one's questioning that. I wonder if you really have read my stories as closely as you think you have, because to be honest I think it's pretty clear that Bruce the way I write him does feel something for her, if not is in love with her. Yes he tries to hide it, which as far as I'm concerned is in keeping with his character on the show. He tries to hide the fact that he was the one digging her out, and he obviously wasn't the one to tell Diana he'd sung for her with 'This Little Piggy'. You're right when you say that Bruce has had a lot of tragedy in his life, and one of the lessons he's pulled from that (rightly or wrongly) is that caring too much about people leads to pain or something happening to them. He's not being cruel - if anything, he's doing the opposite.**

**Anyway, that's what I'm trying to get, sorry if it's not clear to you. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts, and like I said, constructive criticism is always appreciated. Hope that answered your points! **

**Here's the new chapter, so enjoy! **

**Chapter Fourteen - Two Apologies**

He had no idea what Alfred was playing at. Were it not for the fact that he had to come up to the Watchtower at some point anyway he would have just refused. He was the _Batman _for Christ's sake. This was almost humiliating.

He'd arrived home from Wayne Enterprises to find Alfred with dinner waiting and with a box of home-baked chocolate chip cookies for him to take up the Watchtower for J'onn. Bruce had looked at the box with a dubious eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"It's his birthday, sir," was the smooth reply.

Martians didn't have a tradition of birthdays as far as Bruce knew, and J'onn had never mentioned anything like it before. But then there was the fact that Alfred never lied. Twisted and was economical with the truth maybe, but never outright deception. "What are you playing at?" he asked his surrogate-father.

"I'm quite sure I don't know what you mean, Master Bruce."

"I'm sure you don't," Bruce muttered, lifting the lid on the box. Just to check. Nope, just chocolate chip cookies. Looking a lot like Oreos, which fitted with the idea of them being intended for J'onn. During his stay at the manor after the first Watchtower had been destroyed, Alfred had almost taken it as a personal insult that J'onn kindly declined every culinary masterpiece the Englishman could come up with. Now it seemed he'd taken to making his own Oreos.

So, here Bruce was, an hour later, onboard the Watchtower acting as delivery boy. J'onn was in the commissary, about to bite into an Oreo. Bruce stopped next to him. "J'onn, is it your birthday?"

The Martain looked amused. "Martians have no concept of birthdays, Batman."

"That's what I thought." He put the box down in front of J'onn. "From Alfred." Before his friend could reply, he'd left the commissary, wondering what on Earth Alfred thought he was doing. He missed J'onn's eyes glowing orange behind his back.

Batman got in the elevator made his way down through the Watchtower, intending on heading back to Gotham and starting his patrol as soon as possible. He was the only one in the lift, but for some unknown reason it kept stopping at every floor, with no one else getting on. _Must be a glitch in the system._ He'd review the programming when he had time.

When the elevator reached dormitory deck A, Bruce exited. His supply of batarangs in the Cave was running low, but he kept more here. After re-stocking his belt, he left again, purposely avoiding looking at the empty room two doors from his. The still-empty room.

No - plane, Gotham, patrol. That was it. No thoughts other than-

"Batman?"

The voice – that sorely-missed, much-loved voice – made him stop in his tracks, then spin around. Even in the harsh, fluorescent light on the hallway she was heart-stoppingly beautiful. She _glowed _with life, fertility. Were it not for the fact that his feet seemed to have been cemented to the floor, he would have gone to her and kissed her the way his every cell was begging him to. He'd thought he knew how much he missed her, but now she was _here_, and longing made him feel weak.

Her hands moved, automatically it seemed, to her stomach. Demeter in living form. His eyes glued to her bump. _My God. _

She beckoned, then disappeared in her quarters. He followed swiftly, and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. In the deepening silence, Bruce pushed his cowl back, then moved to her side.

"Diana- When- How are you?" he asked finally.

She nodded. "Well." A pause. "You?"

He didn't mean to say it, but the words came out anyway. "I miss you."

"Bruce…"

Feeling it was now or never, he took her hands. "Diana, I'm so sorry. I was totally wrong not to tell you, not to come after you-"

She shook her head. "Bruce, don't. Don't start apologising, not now."

"Princess…I need you to forgive me."

She pulled her hands back. "And I want to," she said. "Really, I do."

"But?" he asked sharply, tone dropping into the Bat.

"But…I need time. And I know I've had the last six months. I need more," she said simply, shrugging. "And there are things I need to tell you."

"Like?"

"Well…the first thing is that it's twins."

"Twins?" he repeated stupidly.

She nodded. "Yes. And you're their father, whatever we decide will happen with us."

He was silent for a long time, his eyes still not leaving the curve of her abdomen. "Can I...?"

"Of course." She smiled, as if she knew he'd been longing to for the past six months, and put her hands by her sides. He didn't try to conceal the fact that his hand was shaking, just a little, as he pulled his gloves off and pressed his palm gently against the bump.

She watched, trying not to feel a warm glow at the rapturous expression on his face. She felt one of the babies move, then a dull pain in her kidney that she winced at. Bruce looked up at her as she shifted slightly. "Kidney shot," she explained.

The corner of his mouth curled upward, but then he felt a thud against his palm, swiftly followed by another. Diana chuckled. "They say hello."

"Do you have names picked out for them?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "I don't know what gender they are, Bruce, how could I have names for them already?"

"True. I just wondered if you had any ideas," he mused, still running his hand lightly over her stomach.

"Do you?"

He took his hand away quickly, as if suddenly the curve of their children burned. "I think I've lost all right to ideas, Princess."

"Bruce-"

He stood. "Maybe...maybe I should go."

Diana stood too. "Don't you _dare_."

He blinked. Diana advanced. "I've spent the last six months thinking about this moment, about whether or not you'd run away from this, about how to approach you, about whether I should allow you a place in the lives of my children - and the only conclusion I came up with was that if nothing else then you are their father. Now I had hoped that you would accept that and at least give them a place in your life, but if you're not going to at least be brave enough to offer that-"

"It's not a question of-"

She fixed him with a glare to rival his own. "I'm not finished!"

Bruce shut up.

"I don't care what we did in Oklahoma," she said. "I don't care if you weren't intending to ever tell me that we'd made love, and I don't care if you want to run away from me, but you _will not _run away from them!"

Her hands were on her swollen belly as she spoke. She knew that it was only Batman retreating temporarily - once he'd collected his bearings and analysed the situation of course he'd be back, but Diana wasn't prepared to wait anymore.

"Now, since it's not something you're prepared to offer without help, I'll dictate terms to you!" She held up one finger. "One, the children live with me. Two, you get to see them according to visiting hours we'll work out together and three, you _will _see them and be a presence in their life and Hera help me if I have to enlist Alfred and Dick and Tim and Barbara and the _Joker _to make you then I will!" She stopped, still glaring. "Is that understood?"

He nodded numbly. "Understood."

"Alright then. I'll call you tomorrow and we can work out the details. Now you can go, because I'm tired, my back hurts and I need to pee."

Still in a state of slight shock, Bruce left.

---

Just after Bruce had left, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Diana sighed. She was feeling drained after her confrontation with Bruce, and she hadn't lied; her back really was hurting, and she needed to nap.

The doors hissed open, and John came in. "That was harsh."

She frowned. "What?"

"I heard you yelling at him down the hallway," he said. "You were really harsh on the guy, you know."

Her mouth fell open. "I thought you were on my side in this!"

He shook his head and sat down. "Diana, this was never about _sides._ You're both my friends. While Bruce was being an ass, yeah, I was pushing him to tell you, but now...you're being a bitch."

"What-?"

"Diana, the man hasn't seen you in six months, and in that time you seem to have forgotten who he is."

She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Diana, this is _Bruce_. There's no way he'd abandon his kids, you know that! How could you think he would?"

"He never said a word-"

"Did you give him a chance to?" John asked. "Like I said: you've been gone months and you didn't give him a chance to react. There are some things that even Batman can't do immediately."

She blinked, but couldn't reply before he'd carried on. "And all this 'allowing' him a place in the lives of your kids? Diana, you don't have the right to keep him from them, however you might feel."

She sighed, now looking at her hands. "That's just it though...how I feel is changing moment to moment. I know that Bruce would never do that. It's just sometimes I think I'll be raising these children alone - which doesn't frighten me in itself, but I wonder if they will suffer for it."

"Hey, you said it yourself. Bruce would never do that. You won't have to do it alone."

She nodded. "I know. I also know that I need to apologise to him," she added before he could say it.

John nodded and got up again. He'd really had enough agony-aunting today. Time to find Flash and do something very male. "Alright."

"Thank you, John," she said, suddenly (despite her size) looking very small and very guilty.

---

It was rare that patrol was actually what Batman would call 'fun'. But tonight he had a lot of anger and confusion to work off, and beating criminals to a bloody pulp did not require much thought. It helped that the villains who did require thought were mostly in jail for the time being. So, if asked, then yes, he was having fun.

However, that only lasted as long as he was actively beating them up. In between bad guys it was easy to lapse back into the anger of earlier. What did she expect him to do? She must know that he wouldn't turn his back on her or the children. Hadn't he said in that same conversation that he'd missed her? For God's sake, she was the one who'd changed her mind halfway through the talk, not him. Damn woman.

Another siren wailed past. Batman smirked grimly, shot out a grappling hook and followed.

Fortunately, it took him a good hour to sort that mess out, and it was three am when he handed the members of the drug ring over to the police. Time to head for home. About fifteen minutes later, the Batmobile pulled into the Cave, and Bruce got out, looking forward to a warm bed. He updated his logs and took a hot shower, welcoming the pounding of the water on his sore muscles, then wearily climbed the stairs up to the manor.

He stopped when he pushed open the clock in the library - there was a reading lamp on in the corner. Moving silently, Bruce shut the clock and walked closer. Whoever it was was seated in the armchair facing away from. When he saw who it was, he relaxed slightly.

Diana was curled up in the huge leather seat, a blanket laid over her, fast asleep. From the slightly pained look on her face, it wasn't a comfortable slumber. Why was she in the manor? Whatever the reason, Bruce couldn't resist the opportunity to pick up where he'd left off earlier that evening. His palm was being gently laid over her stomach before the decision had been made. It was so warm. Under his hand, there was a flutter of movement, softer than the earlier kick he'd felt, but it made him reflexively look up at Diana's face. She was still breathing slowly and deeply, but the frown had smoothed out, and her expression was serene. The corner of Bruce's mouth curled up. He'd forgotten how beautiful she was.

The movement changed again to a _thump_, at which Diana stirred. He moved back and stood up. "Princess."

She opened her eyes and focused on his face. "Bruce, you're back."

"What are you doing here, Diana?" He was annoyed when his growl didn't come out quite as menacingly as he meant it to. In fact his tone was almost gentle. He put it down to her carrying his children. Had to be it.

"I..." She trailed off, looking almost sheepish. "I came to apologise."

He raised an eyebrow in silent invitation for her to carry on. Diana raised her chin slightly. "I'm sorry. I came into your life after six months of being absent, very heavily pregnant, demanding something of you that I didn't give you time to process, and...it wasn't fair of me." She took a deep breath. "I know that you would never...abandon your children. I treated you dishonourably, and for that I am sorry. You're one of the most - if not _the _most - honourable man I've ever known. I trust you, and I treated you like the lowest criminal." She looked up at him, her mouth set unhappily. "I am so sorry, Bruce."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but finally nodded once. "Apology accepted."

She returned the nod, then looked away and stood. "I should go."

"Don't." He stood, glancing at the clock. "Princess, it's three am. You can stay here." The corner of his mouth curled up at one corner. "It's not like I'm short on room."

She smiled, the stiff line of her shoulders softening as she relaxed. "Thank you. I am tired, I have to admit." She ran a hand over her stomach. "They're quite active at night."

Without thinking, he put his hand on top of hers. "Take after their dad you think?"

"Hera help us," she smirked.

He took her hand. "Come on. I'll show you to your room."

They headed through the silent manor together, both of them enjoying the quiet and the small contact with the other. Diana smiled at him when he wasn't looking. It had really been too long. He stopped outside a heavy oak door. "I'll get Alfred to bring you breakfast in the morning."

She nodded. "Thanks. Um, I'm having a scan tomorrow. At two, J'onn's doing it, to determine the general health of the babies. You're welcome to come- I mean..." She swallowed and cursed herself. The Wonder Woman, _stammering_? "I want you to come."

He nodded. "I'll be there." He paused for a moment, then kissed her cheek briefly and softly. "I missed you, Diana."

She touched his face. "I missed you too. Goodnight, Bruce."

"Sleep well, Princess."

---

**A/N: It's just occurred to me that I'm really just using John as a drop-in plot device aren't I? Oh well, he'll get his own little bit eventually (right, AQ? ;) ). Review please!**


	15. Telling Clark

**A/N: Right, AQ pointed out to me (some time ago), that I'd said that Tim had already been kidnapped by the Joker, which I did, she's right. BUT I used it only in an attempt to find a comparison to how pissed Bruce was at Diana's disappearance in the future. So from now on, assume he hasn't been kidnapped and everything is still hunky-dory, ok? ...well, as hunky-dory as anything ever gets for Batman ;) **

**Chapter Fifteen - Telling Clark**

To say that Alfred was delighted to find that Diana had stayed the night in the manor was an understatement. Certainly he didn't show it when he came to wake her the following morning, but she swore she heard him whistling as he went downstairs again. She smiled and sat up, looking in wonder at the huge array of breakfast food he'd made for her.

It ranged from sausages, eggs and bacon to a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese as well as fresh fruit and yoghurt. Diana picked the middle road, and went for toast with some home-made strawberry jam with a cup of earl grey.

The omniscient Englishmen had also found time to launder and press her clothes, and they were waiting for her in a neat pile on the chair in her room. Smiling, she dressed quickly and went downstairs, heading into the kitchen carrying her breakfast tray.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Alfred greeted as she entered. "Allow me to take that," he said, motioning to the tray.

Diana smiled. "I may be pregnant, Alfred, but I'm still capable of carrying a tray downstairs."

"If you'll forgive me, miss, you will not do so while I am in this house."

She relented, letting him take the tray, and sat down at the kitchen island. "Breakfast was delicious, thank you."

He nodded. "You're more than welcome, my dear."

"What time is it, Alfred?" she asked suddenly. From the light outside, it was well into mid-morning, and she certainly felt well-rested. She'd gotten up at least half a dozen times to use the bathroom, but other than that, her sleep had been deep and undisturbed.

"Just after eleven am, miss. Master Bruce is currently at Wayne Enterprises, though I expect him back within an hour or so." He looked up at her, eyes twinkling. "I know he's looking forward to accompanying you for your scan this afternoon."

Diana nodded. "I'm glad. I'm ashamed to admit the way I treated him yesterday was appalling."

"I'm sure the treatment you afforded him was far more lenient than I was inclined to," he told her, mouth tightening again.

"Alfred, please don't be mad at him. The important thing is I'm here, and Bruce and I..." She trailed off, having no idea how to finish that sentence.

"Have time," Alfred completed softly.

She nodded with a grateful smile. "Have time," she agreed.

They chatted quietly for a while, about nothing in particular, until Diana spotted a vase on the window sill that hadn't been there before she left, she was sure of it. It looked out of keeping with the rest of the kitchen too - it was well-crafted, certainly, but modern. She asked Alfred about it.

"Ah. Master Timothy's work. He's showing great promise as a sculptor - a rather recent hobby."

Diana moved over and picked it up carefully. "It's beautiful."

"Indeed it is. Would you consider coming back here after your scan? I know he'd be delighted to see you."

She put the vase down. "I'd like to see him too, but...well, I'm assuming he doesn't know about my pregnancy?" She'd arrived rather late last night, after Tim had gone to bed, since he wasn't patrolling with Bruce that evening.

"No, not yet."

She nodded. "Nor does the rest of the League, apart from Green Lantern. Well, they know I'm pregnant, but have no idea Bruce is the father."

"I see. I take it that includes Master Kent?" She grimaced, trying to imagine the look on Clark's face when he found out. Not a conversation she was looking forward to having.

"Yes," she admitted. "I'm not sure about Bruce, but I think that Dick, Tim and Clark need to know first. And since we're going to the Watchtower this afternoon, I guess Clark's first."

The kitchen door opened, and a slightly tired looking Bruce came in. They didn't smile at each other, still a little too unsure for that, but Diana couldn't help notice and feel a warm glow at the fact that he did smile at her bump. "How was the shareholders meeting, sir?" Alfred asked.

"I didn't have to pretend to be bored," Bruce said dryly.

"Ah, I see. Would you like some lunch?"

Bruce nodded, and Alfred busied himself with making some food. Diana followed Bruce out of the kitchen, finding him in the library. "How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Well, thank you." A pause. "You?"

"Same."

Diana sighed impatiently. "How long do you think we can keep walking on eggshells around each other?"

An unreadable stare. "I don't know what-"

"Don't, Bruce. Please don't."

He looked impassive for a moment longer, then relented. "Alright. I assume the fact that you need more time hasn't changed from yesterday?"

She shook her head. "No. Are you willing to wait?"

He smirked slightly. "I think I can manage three or so years, Princess."

She didn't miss the reference, and smirked in return. Any other situation it would have hurt, him making light of the years she'd waited for him, but she appreciated that he was trying humour. He needed some practice at it, but it wasn't bad for a first go. She nodded. "Alright."

Alfred knocked on the door, carrying some sandwiches. Despite the fact that she'd eaten not all that long ago, the smell of steak and fried onions coming from the sandwich he placed in front of her proved too tempting to resist. She grinned at him and dug in before she'd had time to say, 'thank you'.

Bruce looked at her in slight amusement at the ravenous way she was eating, but followed suit. By the time they'd finished their lunch, it was almost two, and they headed down to the Cave for Bruce to change into the Batsuit before they transported up to the Watchtower.

Once they were beneath the manor, Diana sat in the chair in front of the computers and tried not to think about the fact that behind her, Bruce was getting undressed. Damn hormones. And damn him too, come to that. She didn't even have anything except imagination to go on, despite the fact that she'd seen and...felt everything. Over the course of her pregnancy, she'd prayed many times to Mnemosyne, asking the goddess to restore her memories of that night, but it seemed that she was not meant to know what had happened.

Truthfully, she was glad it had happened anyway, and really the anger had gone now; she'd certainly never expected or wanted to become pregnant at this point in her life, but now that she was, she already loved her unborn children unconditionally - and she knew Bruce would too.

Behind her, the door to the locker room opened, and she swivelled in the chair to see Batman coming toward her, cowl firmly in place. He nodded at her, then put a hand to his com-link. "Batman to Watchtower. Transport Wonder Woman and I up."

"_Roger that, Batman,_" Mr Terrific's voice said, before there was a wave of brightness and the two of them were standing in the transporter room.

The sight of Batman walking next to a very pregnant Wonder Woman did cause some stares, but mostly because of the fact that seeing Diana's bump was still a novelty. Batman was a founding member of the League; it only made sense that one of the founders would be with Diana when she was in a vulnerable state. Still, Bruce was a little relieved that the Infirmary was empty apart from J'onn when they got there. He locked the doors, enabled the privacy functions and deactivated the security cameras before removing his cowl, not wanting to see this through lenses.

The Martian smiled at them both, then spoke to the princess. "How are you feeling, Diana?"

"Fine," she nodded. "How do we do this?"

"Lie on the bed," he instructed. He handed her a sheet to cover her bottom half, then lifted her chiton up to reveal her bump. "This gel will be a little cold," he warned, lifting a tube.

"I don't feel the cold, but thanks for the warning," she smiled.

J'onn nodded and squirted some of the clear liquid onto her stomach, then switched the ultrasound machine on, spreading the gel around. Almost immediately a loud pulsing sound filled the room, and an image flickered up on the screen. The Watchtower had ultrasound machines mainly to help gauge if injured leaguers had internal bleeding or organ damage - this was the first obstetric ultrasound that had been performed here. Like everything aboard, the technology was state-of-the-art, and the image that came up was very distinct. Golden and plastic-looking in appearance, but very definitely a baby's head. With a perfectly-formed face. And tiny little hands.

"The pulsing noises are the heartbeats," J'onn told them. "Both steady and normal speed for this stage in foetal development."

He moved the scanner over to the other side of her abdomen, and a leg appeared onscreen. The scanner moved all over her stomach until J'onn had satisfied himself that all the parts that were supposed to be there were, and no extra parts that weren't supposed to be there weren't.

"Have you made any observations about your pregnancy that are unusual?" J'onn asked.

Diana nodded, and looked at Bruce. "I don't think that the children will inherit my powers. At least not both of them."

Bruce frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"Over the last several months using my powers has become difficult; flying, especially, is almost impossible. I'm not sure what else would cause it," she said.

He nodded thoughtfully. Honestly he couldn't help but feel a little relieved - the idea of having two superpowered children zooming around the manor was a little daunting. No doubt Alfred would be charmed at the idea...until his carefully landscaped garden was ripped up from its roots. And it made sense; Diana's powers weren't genetic, they were god-given - literally. Without the interference of Hera and the other goddesses, their children would be mortal, just like their father.

Struck by a sudden thought, he glanced at Diana. It was the main reason he'd distanced himself from her in the past, to spare her his death. As her friend it might be bearable, but he of all people knew what losing someone you loved could do.

But losing a child, let alone two? What was _that _going to do to her? Watching her family wither and age while she stayed still - he could imagine few things worse.

"And you've felt no other weakness?" he asked her. "Even when you're not using your powers?"

She shook her head. "No. Apart from that everything's been fine."

J'onn ran the scanner over her bump again. "Both the babies are healthy," he said. "Good strong heartbeats, and well-formed limbs. I'm not an expert, as I said, for more details you may wish to consult an OBGYN, but I can assure you that you're going to have two healthy children."

It wasn't until Diana's fingers squeezed his gently that Bruce even realised they were holding hands. "Would you like to know the sexes?"

They exchanged a glance and knew that they were of the same opinion. "No."

"Alright," J'onn smiled. "Then that's it." He handed Diana a tissue to wipe off the gel and switched off the ultrasound.

"You never did tell me what names you liked," she added to Bruce after a few moments. "Not that I really gave you a chance," she admitted ruefully.

"I haven't really given much thought to it," he replied. "But I will."

"I've been thinking...where do you stand on Greek names?"

He smirked. "Well as long as you don't call our daughter 'Aphrodite' I think I can cope."

"Does that go for all goddess names?" she asked. "Because I like 'Persephone'."

He considered. As far as Greek deities went, that one wasn't too bad. He nodded. "I can see that possibly working."

She smiled and stood up, and they walked out of the infirmary together in silence. Clark was coming toward them. "Hey, Diana," he smiled. "Where did you disappear to last night?"

Diana and Bruce exchanged a glance, then Batman motioned with his head toward the empty conference room. Superman followed with a frown on his face, quickly turning to comprehension. Unsettling comprehension. Once the doors were locked, Batman disabled the security cameras and turned to Clark.

Clark looked like he knew exactly what he was going to say. "Oh please don't tell me...you-"

Diana nodded. "I spent the night at the manor, yes."

"O...k...But nothing happened. Right?" he asked Bruce sharply.

"Of course not," he snapped. Then his shoulders slumped. "But..."

"But?" He stopped, then looked at Diana again, the investigative reporter coming forward. "Diana, why were you in the med-bay?"

"A scan," she said gently. "J'onn gave me an ultrasound."

"And...why was Bruce with you?"

They exchanged another look, but it was enough for Clark. "Oh God," he groaned. "You- you and him-"

"Yes," they said together.

"When?!" he demanded. "Well, obviously nine months ago, but- Diana I thought you said there was no father!"

"Well...it's complicated, Clark," she said. "At the time...that's what I believed."

Superman's incredulous gaze swung to Bruce. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Doesn't matter." The sentence came not from Bruce, but from Diana. Her expression was calm, neutral. "Clark, it doesn't matter. Yes, Bruce is the father, and yes he's standing by...us."

Clark's head swivelled between the two of them before he finally got a sentence out. Or part of a sentence anyway. "You- He- _Ridiculous_!"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's ridiculous about it?"

"Well are you together now? Where are you going to live? Is the baby going to-"

"Babies," Batman interrupted. "Twins."

If Clark's mouth had gotten any wider, bats would have been roosting in there. Finally, Diana got slightly worried about his silence. "Kal?"

Superman stumbled over to his chair and collapsed into it, pushing his face into his palms. "So...you're having twins. Bruce is the father...anything else you think I should know? Are you together?"

"No," Diana calmly.

"And you're ok with that?" he asked her sceptically.

"That's personal, Kal." She didn't say it with the unemotional harshness of Batman, but she kept her voice even, and there was no way to tell what she as thinking, even for Bruce. He'd been in her shoes less than a day and he hated it.

The height that Clark's eyebrows had been stationed seemed to indicate that he wasn't convinced. "Well are you still going to stick with the Diana-Prince thing? Are you going to tell the...children...who their parents really are? For that matter, how are you suddenly going to explain that Bruce Wayne is suddenly a father? Or-"

"Those are things we haven't discussed yet," she told him. "But they're things that will be discussed between Bruce and I."

Clark finally nodded. "Alright. When are you going to tell the others?"

"When we've talked about it," she nodded.

It seemed that Clark had run out of things to say, since returned her nod and stood up, hesitating for a moment. "Thanks for telling me."

Diana smiled. "Anytime."

Once Superman had gone, Batman turned to her. "Much as I hate to admit it, he's right. There are things we need to discuss."

---

**A/N: Review please! **


	16. Practicalities

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for their reviews. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, just seems a bit stilted to me for some reason, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! **

**Chapter Sixteen - Practicalities **

Diana took a sip of her tea. "Ok, so Clark's good points?"

He nodded. "First one."

She considered for a moment. "I think...for their safety, it would be better if the children did not know my identity," she said finally. "Either of our identities."

"Agreed." He put his coffee down on the table, but kept his hands around the cup. "Diana, you do realise that they'll be at risk anyway? Batman can be hidden. The fact that Bruce Wayne is their father can't be." At the least they'd be vulnerable to kidnap and ransom demands.

Diana smiled. "I know, but I trust we'll be able to keep them safe." She cleared her throat, shifting a little. "Speaking of, what's the official story? An ex-girlfriend?"

"Keep as close to the truth as possible," he stated. It made it easier to lie.

Diana nodded to show she understood. "A one-night stand." She kept her face and voice neutral. "And living arrangements?"

It was minute or two before he replied, and he got up and walked over to the library window, looking out at something in the grounds. "The gate-house has been empty for decades." In truth it hadn't had occupants since the 1930s, when even the Wayne family had been affected by the Great Depression and been forced to lay off someone of their staff. "It's on the manor grounds, I can have it renovated in time for the birth."

She twisted her mouth. "Bruce, it's a kind offer, but I don't want charity."

He nodded. "Then you can buy it from me at a fair price."

A smile lit her face. "Alright."

"But..."

Her eyebrow quirked. "But?"

"For the first few weeks, would you consider living in the manor?" Seeing her still hesitant, he pressed on. "At least until they start sleeping through the night." He chuckled. "Doesn't seem fair for you to have to do all the parenting by yourself."

She laughed gently. "Alright." She extended a hand. "I accept, Mr Wayne. Thank you."

He took it and shook. "My pleasure, Miss Prince."

She grinned and sat down again, drinking the last of her tea. "When do we tell Dick and Tim?" she asked.

"Tonight," he answered. "I'll call Dick and ask him to come over."

"Ok."

They were silent for a while, and Diana got up, examining the books on the shelves. Bruce watched her with a soft smile. He was a father already, but having babies wouldn't be anything like adopting Dick and Tim. Bruce blinked. Jesus, he'd a _daddy_. The thought caused a spontaneous grin.

Him, a daddy.

Diana pulled out a copy of _Moby Dick._ He remembered his father reading that to him as a child. Maybe he'd do the same.

She put the book back and moved on, coming across an old family bible. "I know it is traditional in Man's World to have babies christened," she said, "do you-"

"I'm not religious," he interrupted. "...but my mother was Catholic. And I wouldn't put it past Alfred to get them christened without our knowledge."

She smiled. "Then we should have them christened, for Alfred if no one else. They can decide whether or not to be involved in any faith when they are older." They would be children of two very different cultures, and they deserved to be well-versed in both. "I am unfamiliar with the customs and ceremony, however," she continued.

"Well, we need godparents."

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "People who would take care of them if anything happened to us, to provide...spiritual guidance."

"Oh."

"So do you have any ideas for godparents?" he asked.

She sat down again. "I think perhaps you should choose the godfathers."

"Fathers?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes," she said. "There are two children, it only seems to make sense that they have one set of godparents each."

"True. So I choose the godfathers, and you the godmothers?"

She nodded. "Sounds fair."

He didn't really need to think about it for long - there were only two names that came to mind. Looking at Diana, she knew exactly what he was going to say. "Well?"

"Dick and Clark," he said.

She nodded with a smile. "That's what I thought."

"You?"

"I'm sure the World's Best Detective can work it out," she said.

"Shayera the first."

"Yes."

"The second...I really hope I'm wrong about."

The smile disappeared from her face. "What? Why?"

"Audrey? Really, Princess?"

"Really," she said defensively. "I know a few years ago she wasn't exactly the most responsible person, but she's matured a lot. She's had to - being the queen of a nation is no small task. And she's my friend, Bruce. I trust her, and I would trust her with my children."

He sighed. "And I trust you."

"Thank you."

He nodded, then got up to phone Dick. "I'll be back in a few moments," he said. Diana watched him leave, surprised that it had taken them so short a time to come up with godparents. Bruce phoning Dick had reminded her of the fact that she hadn't spoken to Audrey in months.

She got up and walked over to the desk opposite the clock, powering up the computer intending to email Audrey. It didn't take long to boot up, but the screen came up with two instructions.

**Enter PIN**

**Enter password **

Diana frowned in thought, then input the number she thought might work. 91939. It was the passcode to his room on the Watchtower. Now for the password... She tried the obvious - Alfred's name, Bruce's date of birth, Nightwing, Batman, Robin. Nothing. All she got was **Access Denied**.

Huffing out a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair and tapped gently on her stomach. "Any ideas, sun and star?"

She felt a kick in reply against her hand, but no new idea struck. On a whim, and feeling foolish, she typed in _Princess_.

The computer beeped.

**Access Granted. **

"Score." She giggled. "Hera, I sound like Wally."

"Didn't take you long to hack in," Bruce's voice commented from the doorway.

Her head shot up, but he didn't look angry. In fact he looked impressed. "Technically it's not hacking if I know the password and PIN."

"You must have guessed the password," he said. "How narcissistic of you."

"How sentimental of you," she shot back.

"Not sentimental," he corrected, coming in. He walked to her, dropped a small kiss onto her hair. "I told you I missed you." He didn't tell her that it had been his password for a while now. "I take it you're emailing Audrey?"

She nodded. "Is Dick coming?"

"Yes. He finishes work in an hour and then he's coming here for dinner, and Tim gets home in about ten minutes."

She nodded. She could imagine Tim very easily as a much-loved big brother, and spent the next few moments inwardly chuckling at the mental image of her twins clambering all over Tim whether he wanted them to or not. Bruce's estimation was a little off - the front doors banged open and shut within five minutes, and Tim came thundering up the stairs.

"Bruce, Alfred said you wanted to- Diana!"

Still seated as she was behind the desk, he couldn't see her bump. She smiled broadly. She'd missed his enthusiasm. "Hello, Tim."

"Alfred said you'd stayed the night, and I hoped you'd still be here when I got- Whoa!" He stared at her for about five seconds. "You're pregnant, did you know that?" he asked blankly.

She grinned. "Yes."

"Huh." He looked down at her bump again. "So you-?"

"Yes."

He looked at Bruce. "And you-?"

He nodded, trying not to look proud about the fact that Tim had worked it out a lot quicker than Clark.

"Huh."

"Tim?"

He blinked, then grinned with a smile that couldn't be anything less than genuine. "Congratulations! So I get to be a big brother right? Right?"

Diana relaxed. He was taking it just as she'd hoped. "Right. To both of them."

"Twins? You're having twins?! This is great!"

Dick's reaction later that evening was slightly less enthusiastic, mainly because he thought Bruce was insane. _You got Wonder Woman pregnant?! What the hell were you thinking?! _

But after they'd asked him to be one of the godfathers, and Diana had assured him that she wasn't planning on ripping Bruce's head off, he calmed down. Then he began doing his godfatherly duty. "So how are you planning on keeping these kids safe?" he asked. "Diana doesn't have a secret identity."

"Actually she does," Bruce answered.

Dick nodded. "Ok, so I take it you're not going to tell them who you are."

"No."

"Right. Where are you all living?"

Diana gestured out of the window. "I'm buying the gate-house."

"Fair enough."

Dick stayed for dinner, then got up to leave. "I'm going to swing by Babs' place on my way back to Bludhaven." He nodded to Diana. "It's good to see you, Diana. And congratulations...and thanks."

Tim walked with him to the door. "You didn't ask them if they're together or not," he noted.

Dick looked at him. "Did you?"

Tim shook his head. "No."

Dick put a hand on his shoulder. "Keep it that way. Trust me, the less you know about Bruce's love-life the happier you'll be."

Tim nodded. "True. But it'd be nice if he was happier."

"It's up to Bruce if he lets that happen," Dick shrugged. "I'll see you later, Tim. Oh, by the way, when's Diana going to...drop?" he asked, thinking about what Barbara's reaction was going to be when he told her. He was anticipating much squealing.

"Don't know," Tim answered. "Soon, I think. In about a month or so." He smirked. "Sure you're ready to be a godfather?"

Dick gave his younger brother a wink. "As long as you don't screw up being a big brother I think we'll both be ok. See you later, Tim."

"Bye."

Tim walked back toward the dining room, but stopped at the doors. Inside, Bruce and Diana were standing by the window from which the gate-house was visible. They weren't quite touching, but Bruce had one hand hovering just above Diana's back, and her body was turned slightly into his. Tim felt like he was intruding, so backed away from the door. As he went up the stairs, he heard Diana say something, followed by a low chuckle from Bruce.

Tim smiled. He hoped they were together, or at least would be. It was the first time he'd heard Bruce laugh in months.

---

**A/N: Review please!**


	17. Watergate

**A/N: Again - thanks AQ! And thanks to all my reviewers! **

**Chapter Seventeen - Watergate**

It hadn't taken Lois long to work out that something was wrong with her husband when he got back to the office. Especially since he hadn't done the top two buttons of his shirt up properly, or put his glasses on. So, consequently, anyone with an observant eye – like, say, a roomful of reporters – would have been able to bust the biggest secret in the history of Metropolis. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she grabbed his hand and yanked him back into it.

He blinked at her like she'd gone mad. "Lois, what–?"

"What the hell are you thinking, Smallville?" she hissed. "Top button, hello?! And where are your glasses?"

He looked down, saw the blue of his suit poking out. "Oh."

That was it. Just 'oh'.

"_Oh_?!" she repeated. "For God's sake, Clark, _Jimmy _would have guessed it with you looking like that!" Rolling her eyes at him, Lois reached up to button the shirt closed.

"Right. Yeah. Sorry."

Feeling slightly alarmed now, Lois took his face in her hands. "Clark? Are you alright?"

He absentmindedly brushed his cowlick back. "Fine..."

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

He swallowed hard. "Roof."

A few moments later, they emerged on the roof, and Clark sat down on the edge, his face in his hands. "You know Diana's pregnant, right?" he asked.

She nodded. He'd told her as soon as Diana had told the Founders, but then the next second she'd flown off to Themyscira and hadn't communicated with anyone for the past seven months.

"But that's not all," he told her. "She's carrying twins… and Bruce is the father."

Lois plopped down next to him. "Wow. This is the biggest story since... Watergate..."

Her husband chuckled. "I should have known that would be your reaction."

"So what are you worried about?" she asked. "I get why you have to sit on it, but still..."

"What am I worried about? This is _Bruce Wayne_ we're talking about, Lois. And Diana... I have no idea what Diana thinks she's doing."

"What do you mean?"

"They're not...together. As far as I can tell, it was a one-night stand –"

"One-night stand? _Diana_?"

"Exactly," he said, confirming that his reaction had been much the same as his. "And more than that, she doesn't mind that they're not together... I actually think... that maybe Bruce wants it more than she does."

Lois blinked. "Bruce? _Wants _a committed relationship? We are talking about the same Bruce Wayne here right? The goddamn _master_ at avoiding having a serious relationship with _any_ woman, be she reporter, superhero, cat thief, or super-villain's daughter?"

Clark nodded numbly.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked. "I mean... Wonder Woman being pregnant is bad enough, but considering who the father is –"

She was cut off by Clark's cell phone ringing. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. "It's Diana."

"Diana has a cell phone?"

"Her secret identity does."

"Diana has a –"

He flipped it open. "Clark Kent."

---

"Shayera?"

The redhead smiled at Diana from her chair in from of the monitor screens. "Hey, Diana."

The princess pulled up a chair next to her friend. "I have a favour to ask you."

"Alright, go ahead." She watched in slight puzzlement as Diana checked furtively around for anyone else before she answered.

Finally the princess turned back with her hands resting gently on her abdomen. Shayera tried not to feel a shock of pain… and failed. What if she never – _No. Don't go there, Shay. _She swallowed. "What is it, Diana?"

"I would like you to be godmother to one of my children. Bruce and I have discussed it –"

"What, what?" she interrupted. "Bruce? What the hell's Bruce got to do with –" She cut off as her eyes widened. "Oh my God. _Diana_!"

A blush spread from Diana's chin right up to the roots of her hair. She nodded. "Yes. Bruce is the father."

Shayera leaned back into her chair with a long, low whistle. "Fuck me."

"Shayera! I hope you're not going to use that sort of language around the children," Diana said, her expression becoming severe.

Shayera grinned. She loved it when Diana went into princess-mode. "Alright, no potty-mouth around the kids, but seriously! _Bruce_?"

"Yes."

"So are you...?"

Diana raked a hand through her hair in frustration. "When are people going to stop asking that question?"

"Ah. Sore spot, huh?" She tapped the handle of her mace and smirked at her friend. "Want me to have a… _word_ with him?"

"_No_!" Annoyed that she'd lost her cool again, Diana took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "It's not Bruce, I... I'm not sure I know what I want anymore, and while I'm pregnant and my hormones are..."

"Everywhere?" Shayera supplied helpfully.

Diana chuckled. "'Everywhere' works, I guess. Still, while I am the way I am, it's not fair to make a snap decision that I might change my mind about ten seconds later. As it is I get myself ready to tell him I never want to see him again at least a dozen times each morning."

"But that's not how you really feel, is it?" Shayera asked.

"No, since come lunchtime I decide I'm completely in love with him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"Yeah, I can see why you want to wait to make your decision."

"So what do you say? Will you be one of the godmothers?"

She nodded. "I'd love to be." She grinned. "Thanks, Diana." Suddenly her grin disappeared. "What the hell are you going to tell your mother? I take it she doesn't know –"

The princess grimaced. "Uh, no. She has no idea. As far as she knows, I'm still..."

"An image of the virgin goddesses?"

"Exactly. I suppose I'll have to tell her at some point, but... maybe that's another conversation to save until after the birth."

"Wow." Shayera raised her eyebrows. "You are going to be doing a lot of talking once those babies are born. Speaking of, how does 'Diana Prince' know Hawkgirl well enough to make her godmother to her child?"

Diana's smile was slightly devious. "Well that's easy. You're a member of the Justice League, after all. I'm a member of the general public. Superheroes such as yourself regularly have to save people like me."

"Ah. So I saved your life once, and in your gratitude you made me a godmother?" Shayera eyed her doubtfully. "Sounds a little dubious, Di."

"Well it won't be exactly that simple. Say you were wounded; not seriously, but enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. I performed first aid until help arrived, and then we agreed to meet for coffee, then lunch and..."

"Hey presto! We're friends?" Shayera asked dryly.

"Exactly," Diana grinned.

"Good plan." The Thanagarian stretched with a yawn. "God I'm tired. What time is it?"

"Two a.m. GMT."

"Urgh. Great. I'm on till eight."

Diana frowned. "I though the monitor duty hours only lasted six hours each?"

"Batman changed them after you disappeared. Think he was trying to make everyone as miserable as he was. That's Flash's theory anyway."

"Miserable?" Diana frowned. "Why would he be miserable?"

Shayera's expression indicated she was beginning to doubt that the princess really had the wisdom of Athena. "Diana, you disappeared for more than six months. The man has been in love with you for years, did you not think he'd miss you?"

Diana looked away. He had said he'd missed her, but... "I sincerely doubt he was in love with me before I left, Shayera." She scowled. "He turned me down enough times."

"Well yeah, but that's the beauty of now, don't you get it?" When Diana continued to look mystified, Shayera elaborated. "Look, if I know Batman – as much as anyone actually _knows _Batman – then he pushed you away because he was afraid of losing you. He needed exactly what you gave him – a taste of what life without you would actually be like. Trust me, Di, he did not like the reality of it." She shrugged and turned her attention back to the screens in front of her when a small alarm sounded on the console. "It wouldn't surprise me if he never wanted to let you out of his sight again."

Diana was silent, shifting uncomfortably as a slight pain shot through her lower abdomen. "Shay?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think... maybe I should talk to him before the birth?"

"Up to you, Diana, but if you're worried about how long he's going to wait...you shouldn't be." She rolled her chair over to the communications array. "Watchtower to Question and Green Arrow, looks like Copperhead's robbing the Guggenheim. Go take care of it."

Ollie's voice came back. _"Roger, Watchtower, we're on it."_

Diana ended up spending the rest of Shayera's shift with her, taking a break only to go and grab something to eat when her stomach pains persisted. She came back into the Monitor Womb with an iced mocha for Shayera and a packet of Oreos with some mayonnaise for herself. The redhead's iced mocha sat forgotten, getting steadily warmer while she watched, disgusted, as Diana feasted on the cookies and condiment.

"That might be the most revolting thing I've ever seen."

Diana grinned. "It's delicious."

"It's disgusting."

"You just wait – when you get cravings during your pregnancy, I'm going to –"

Shayera's jovial expression vanished immediately, and she looked down and away. Diana frowned. "Shayera? What's wrong?"

"You still don't... remember anything from the mission you went on with John and Bruce, do you?" she asked. "The one where you conceived."

Diana shook her head. "Nothing. Aside from this, it never happened for me. Why?"

"Because... when you went to the future, you met my son."

Diana's mouth fell open. "Your son?"

Shayera nodded. "My son. Mine and John's." She ignored Diana's wide-eyed look and carried on. "At some point in the future – or _that _future," she interjected bitterly, "John and I get back together, and we have a son. I asked Bruce for the details and... he told me."

"What did he tell you, exactly?" Diana asked. She herself knew precious little about that mission, aside from its more obvious repercussions.

Shayera kept her voice quiet, but it was brimming with emotion, and tears began rolling slowly down her cheeks. "His name was Rex. Bruce said he fought more like me than John, but he looked like his dad. Apart from his eyes, he said. Rex had my eyes." Her hands gripped her chair-arms hard. "But John made it clear that we won't be getting back together anytime soon."

Diana turned her chair gently and wiped Shayera's cheeks dry. "I am so sorry, Shayera," she breathed, gathering her friend into her arms.

"I'm so afraid, Diana," she whispered. "I want my son so badly. I've never met him and I can... feel the space where he's missing. What if John never breaks up with Mari? What if, even if he does, he finds someone else?" Shayera shook her head. "I mean, Diana... who am I kidding? I don't get to have a happy ending – not after everything I've done."

She drew back, and Diana frowned. Shayera had always displayed such a defiant front. She'd made her choice – Earth over Thanagar, and that was that. It was one reason why it had taken so long for Diana to forgive her – she could see no sign of repentance. Had it been tearing Shayera up all this time?

"Shayera..." she started. "Of course you deserve happiness. You've made mistakes, and you've rectified them. There is no one in the League who blames you or would begrudge you the chance of happiness. You love John."

Shayera snorted resentfully. "It doesn't matter how much I love John. If he doesn't love me enough to 'be a puppet of fate', then what I am supposed to do?"

Diana shook her head. "I don't know." She forced a smile onto her face. "Want me to have a word with him?"

That got a watery chuckle from Shayera. "I don't think it would do much good," she said, wiping her cheeks and squaring her shoulders. "Right, I'm going to –"

Suddenly, a pain stronger than the ones she'd been having all day shot through Diana's abdomen. She gasped, feeling a horrible foreboding when warm wetness began to seep through her chiton. "Oh Hera," she whispered.

"Diana? What's –"

She was cut off by a red blur stopping next to them. "It's seven fifty two a.m., ladies, I believe it's my turn for monitor duty. So how was your – Holy shit!"

Diana swallowed and forced herself to remain calm. "Alright – my water just broke."

Shayera stood up, taking charge. She helped Diana slowly get to her feet. "Right, we're going to the infirmary. Wally, call Batman, get him up here."

Wally blinked. "Huh? What the hell is Bats gonna do?"

Diana rolled her eyes. "He's the father, Flash, now just get him up here."

"On it, Wondy." He tracked Batman's com-link; it was just coming up to three a.m. in Gotham, and his tracking signal was in the Batcave. "Watchtower to Batman."

Nothing.

"Batman, come in!"

Still nothing.

"Seriously, man, get your bat-ass on this bat-channel –"

Another, much younger voice came over. _"Uh, Watchtower? This is Robin. Batman's not going to be available for a while." _

Wally rolled his eyes. "Tim, you _know_, right?"

"_About the princess? 'Course I know." _

"Good, because Diana's gone into labour."

There was a pause. _"She's what?"_

"She's gone into _labour, _Tim! You know, about to give birth to two little Wonder Bats?!"

"_Shit."_

"Yeah. Get Bruce's ass up here right now!"

In the Cave, Tim and Alfred exchanged a glance, and then looked down at Bruce's very unconscious form. "Uh, that's gonna be a problem."

---

**A/N: Review please! Oh, and please visit my profile, since I'm trying to decide if I should do a sequel to this or not. The poll will be open until I finish this story, so please put yes or no :)**


	18. The Birth

**A/N: First and foremost, Angel Queen is a genius. And she's lovely. So round of applause for her. And thank you for everyone who reviewed. Here's the next (penultimate) chapter, so enjoy!**

**Chapter Eighteen - The Birth**

Doctor Elizabeth Jarvis had left medical school at the age of twenty-four, and had worked her way up to become a consultant obstetrician at one of the most prestigious hospitals in London. Then another opportunity came up – she could retrain in emergency medicine and become chief (civilian) physician onboard the Watchtower. The salary was a lot less, the hours were a lot longer, the facilities were less sophisticated and her work environment was thousands of miles above home.

Despite the less-than-ideal parts of the job, Doctor Jarvis didn't care. Because how many doctors could claim they patched up _superheroes _for a living? It was dangerous, exciting, and difficult. Exactly the kind of challenge Jarvis relished in.

Still, she still thanked God she remembered most of her training in obstetrics when Wonder Woman came in, Hawkgirl supporting her. Jarvis had, of course, been briefed on the Amazon's condition by J'onn, and knew there was a fair chance she would be assisting in the delivery of the two babies.

What she had not counted on was the fact that Wonder Woman had a pain threshold of ridiculous proportions. Whereas most women at this stage of labour would have been screaming for hours, Diana had only recognised the pain meant something was happening within the last half an hour or so. Well, Jarvis was fairly certain that in about an hour, the princess would be screaming anyway, since she'd left it too late to safely administer an epidural.

After all, pethodene would really only go so far.

She got Wonder Woman changed into a gown and settled onto a bed. "How far apart are the contractions?" she asked.

"About once every five minutes," Diana said calmly.

"Alright." She turned to Shayera. "Hawkgirl, could you please contact J'onn and ask him to come up here? I'll need his assistance."

The Thanagarian nodded, heading toward the exit. "I won't be long, Diana."

She never quite made it to the doors.

Jarvis had worked for the Justice League long enough to know that Batman was not just an urban myth. It didn't mean he didn't scare the hell out of her, but the man was most definitely real. However, just because he was real, didn't mean everything they said about him was. Like the fact that he allowed kids to help him with the crime-fighting. That was just ridiculous – no adult in their right mind would allow children to engage in such violence. Though granted, one of the kids apparently wasn't a kid anymore, but had grown up to be a young vigilante who led the same kind of crazy life Batman did. As far as Jarvis knew, Nightwing had never been up to the Watchtower. At least, he hadn't while she was on duty.

Just before Hawkgirl got to the doors of the med-bay, they opened, and said young vigilante came through, carrying the aforementioned mentor unconscious in a fireman's carry.

Shayera's eyes bugged out of her head. "You have _got _to be kidding me!" she exclaimed. "Of all the times to get knocked out!"

Nightwing frowned. "It's not like he meant to, Hawkgirl, and what's so important about now that–" He spotted Wonder Woman on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown, her expression aghast and staring at Batman. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, you think?"

"Of all the times he had to get himself knocked out!"

"Now Junior gets it," Shayera muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Nightwing, put him over here," Jarvis interrupted, not missing the way Diana's gaze followed Batman, though she seemed to be speechless with shock. "Hawkgirl, I still need J'onn up here."

"Gotcha," she said, rushing out.

Nightwing approached Diana. "Labour then?"

The Amazon regained her ability to talk. "He can't miss this!" she exclaimed. "Wake him up!"

"I've tried hitting him," Dick explained. "So did Robin before he called me – nothing. He's really out for the count. We thought there might actually be something seriously wrong, so I brought him up here." He turned to Jarvis. "Doctor, can you do a CT scan or something?"

"Not by myself," she said, "not when I have two patients to look after - one of whom is in the advanced stages of labour."

"Advanced stages?" Wonder Woman whispered.

"I can do an external examination on Batman," Jarvis said. "But not through his cowl. It'll have to come off."

Diana and Nightwing exchanged a disconcerted look. "Isn't there another way?"

"No. It's too thick for me to ascertain if there's been any damage to the skull."

"Shit."

"Wait," Diana said. "I have an–" She stopped, her face creasing in pain for several seconds. Once it was gone, she breathed deeply for a few moments. "Okay, the pain's getting worse." She cleared her throat. "Nightwing, cut a section of his cape off, cover his face with it. Then Doctor Jarvis can examine him without compromising his identity."

"Good idea."

That done, the cowl came off while Jarvis's back was turned, then she examined Batman's head thoroughly. "I don't think there's any damage to the skull," she finally said after several minutes. "Just a bad concussion. He'll be regaining consciousness soon."

Nightwing looked relieved. Diana didn't, though mainly because she was in the midst of another contraction. This time she let out a groan of pain through her clenched teeth. "They're getting... more frequent..."

"That was less than five minutes," Jarvis said, stepping away from Batman. She came back over to Diana, pulled the curtains around the bed to give her some privacy. "Would you like some pain relief?"

Diana hesitated; all through her pregnancy, she'd resolved not to have any pain relief. It seemed un-Amazonian somehow. However, that was before she'd had any of these contractions. Jarvis's expression was sympathetic. "I can't give you too much, I'm afraid," she told her, "but I can give you some Entenox."

Diana nodded, and accepted the mouthpiece from Jarvis. "Thank you."

"Now just relax, I'm going to give you an internal examination," Jarvis explained. "It may feel a little uncomfortable."

Diana nodded, and Jarvis performed the exam quickly and efficiently. "You're eight centimeters dilated. I actually have no idea how you weren't feeling more pain before now."

The Amazon shrugged, then pulled on the Entenox when another contraction hit. They were definitely getting longer and more painful. "Definitely too late for an epidural?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Jarvis felt another pang of sympathy for the heroine. "Definitely," she said gently.

"He better wake up soon," the princess ground out. "Or I'll make sure he never wakes up again!"

The contraction over, she went back to her breathing techniques. It was remarkable how similar being in labour was to being seriously injured.

Jarvis wondered for a moment who she meant, until she realised that Diana was talking about Batman – there was really no one else she could mean. Trying not to let her surprise show on her face, Jarvis snapped her latex gloves off and busied herself with getting the equipment ready. She didn't miss the princess's wide eyes when she spotted the forceps.

She relaxed quite a bit once J'onn's form phased through the curtain. "J'onn!"

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Jarvis said. She liked the big Martian; anyone around him could not fail to be aware of his compassion, or the fact that his placid façade hid a quick, brilliant mind, or – when he needed to have it – a warrior's mentality. Knowing that he'd appreciate being briefed on the situation quickly, Jarvis gave him a quick rundown.

"Contractions are less than five minutes apart now, and she's a little more than eight centimeters dilated. It shouldn't be too long before she can start pushing."

J'onn nodded. "I'll let you take the lead," he said calmly, recognising that she knew more about midwifery than he did.

She nodded. "Alright."

J'onn's eyes flashed, and he looked up at Diana. Jarvis assumed they were communicating telepathically, but whatever it was, Diana's stressed expression smoothed out, and Jarvis felt another wave of gratitude for J'onn's presence. With him present the delivery should be as normal as possible.

The doctor glanced at the curtain to her left; thinking about the man who lay beyond it. Now all they needed was for Batman to wake up.

---

Screaming.

Why was there screaming? He remembered darkness swallowing his vision while on patrol; was he still lying there? Was whoever knocked him out causing some kind of havoc?

The screaming stopped, and Bruce became aware of the fact he was lying on a bed, with an extremely sore head. He groaned softly – and the pain in his head was superseded by a fresher pain in his shoulder. "Ow!" he complained softly, cracking his eyes open slightly.

Dick's furious masked face hovered, swimming, above him. "'Ow'?" he repeated incredulously. "Shove your 'ow' up your ass! Get the hell up!"

There could be no mistaking the urgency in his tone, and it was enough to get Bruce sitting up. "Sit-rep," he demanded.

"Sit-rep?" Dick repeated, his expression incredulous. "He wants a sit-rep. Okay, here's your sit-rep." He pointed, and the second scream sounded. A scream of intense pain, not fear.

Bruce looked around. Watchtower. Infirmary. His brow furrowed. Hadn't he been in Gotham? He looked at Dick, whose expression indicated he was somehow missing the vitally important point. "_Diana_ is in _labour_!" the younger man finally exploded.

Oh. That was the scream? Labour. Huh.

Wait a second.

Diana.

Labour.

"Shit."

"Finally!"

Bruce leapt off the bed and ran to the curtains surrounding Diana's bed, ripping them back. Her eyes, furiously blue, met his. "Where the _hell _have you been?!"

Her face was sweaty, her hands had bent the metal of the bedstead, her fingernails had shredded the mattress, and her hair was a stringy mess. "Sorry," he said blankly. "Um, unconscious."

She hissed something in Themysciran that he was sure reflected badly on his parentage, then let out another scream when another contraction hit. Beside her, J'onn handed her the mouthpiece of the Entenox. She breathed deeply through the pain.

"How far along is she?" he asked J'onn.

"I'd estimate about another ten minutes," he told him.

"Keep pushing, Diana," Doctor Jarvis urged. "You're almost there."

Her eyes and face were screwed up in concentration. After about a minute of this, all her muscles relaxed, and she slumped against the pillows behind her, her chest rising and falling with the huge gulps of air she was taking. She shakily picked the mask off her face. "Artemis, help me!" she panted.

"We're nearly there," Jarvis assured her.

"'Nearly'... is a relative term..." she said.

Bruce marveled that she could smile at a time like this. Feeling it was safe to come forward, he moved to her side. She didn't stop him, and her hand found his, gave it a quick squeeze and let go.

"You have no idea how much I hate you right now," she said.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head, but apparently couldn't muster the energy to berate him further. "Hera, there's another one coming!"

This time, the metal of the bed bent audibly, then came away in her fists. "Crowning!" Jarvis announced from between her legs. "I see a head! Come on, Diana, you can't stop now!"

Diana didn't stop sobbing, but still pushed as best she could. The contraction ended, and J'onn and Jarvis spoke quietly together. Jarvis looked up at Diana. "The baby's shoulders are stuck, Diana; with your next contraction I need you to push as hard as you possibly can, understand?"

Diana nodded. "Now," she groaned.

Bruce knew better than to take her hand – all that would change was that the kids would have two parents in pain rather than just the one. Still, this was horrible. The woman he loved was screaming on the bed because of something he'd done, and there was no way for him to ease or stop her pain. Nothing could be worth the agony on her face, nothing –

J'onn's voice broke in, his tone brimming with happiness. "It's a girl."

Most of Bruce's energy went on not letting his knees collapse. Diana's head hit the pillow with tears still streaming down her cheeks. He heard her whispering under her breath: a stream of thanks to every goddess. Then her eyes opened, meeting his. He smiled, brushed some hair from her forehead and pressed a kiss to her skin.

"Why isn't she –"

The new sound that split the air was still a scream, but it was sharp, and high-pitched, and _incredible. _They both looked up, seeing the baby in J'onn's hands. Diana's hand – he hadn't been aware of holding it – squeezed his frozen fingers. "Hold her," she whispered.

He didn't move, but suddenly J'onn was handing him his daughter, wrapped in a warm blanket. Her skin was too pink; her mouth was screaming and without teeth, and she was still covered in amniotic fluids.

She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He blinked, and tears started making their way down his cheeks. Dimly, he realised he didn't have the cowl on. He didn't care.

A hand settled gently on his shoulder, and he looked into Dick's smiling face. His eldest son nodded. "Congratulations. She's gorgeous."

Bruce nodded, but couldn't have spoken if his life had depended on it. He moved to Diana, seeing her exhausted face light up. Tears were streaming down her face as well as his. She ran a crooked finger down their daughter's face gently, tracing the shape of her nose. At her mother's touch, the baby stopped crying, opening her eyes.

"Look what you did," Bruce whispered.

"What _we _did," she corrected softly.

Doctor Jarvis interrupted softly. "Uh, Diana? You're not done yet."

Bruce and Diana blinked at each other. Somehow they'd both forgotten they were having twins. Judging from the discomfort that crossed her face, Diana was swiftly being reminded of that fact.

There was more screaming after that, and more prayers, and more Themysciran curses. But two minutes and twenty four seconds after his sister, a little boy came into the world – every bit as beautiful as his twin.

J'onn delivered him into the arms of his mother. She blinked at him for a moment in stunned delight, surprised. "A boy..."

Momentarily, Bruce was worried she was going to be horrified at breaking tradition, and creating a male with Amazon blood. Then her face split into the brightest grin in the world. She looked up at him, eyes shining with joy. "A boy!" she repeated softly.

For about thirty seconds, two very proud parents wept over two very perfect babies.

Jarvis grinned at the picture they made. "Diana? We just have to get the placenta out, and then you can rest."

The princess nodded, and beckoned to Dick, placing his godson gently into his arms. J'onn looked at Bruce, his eyes glowing. _I believe Superman and Hawkgirl are waiting outside_.

Bruce smiled. _Thank you, J'onn. Thank you so much. _

_It was my pleasure, my friend. _

He turned back to Diana, and she smiled weakly, simply because she didn't have the energy to properly grin. "Go show the others," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead again, and nodded before walking out. Dick followed close behind.

It took a lot to make the Man of Steel cry, but somehow Bruce wasn't surprised that Clark did.

It did shock him that Shayera cried. Denying that she was doing any such thing, she handed him back his daughter. "You and Diana do good work, Bruce," she sniffed.

He grinned, looked down at his daughter. Dark blue eyes looked back. "We do, don't we?"

Clark patted him on the shoulder – he'd have bruises the next day. They were worth it, though. The Kryptonian grinned at his best friend. "They're both beautiful–"

He was cut off by the doors to the infirmary opened, and J'onn came out. There was blood on his hands.

Bruce felt his heart begin to pound. "Who– Whose blood is that?" he asked sharply.

J'onn's face was as sombre as he'd ever seen it. "Diana's. She's hemorrhaging badly."

It took all his strength not to tighten his grip painfully on the baby. "How badly?"

"She's lost almost three litres," the Martian said. "Anymore and..."

"And she could die," he finished, dread stripping his voice of emotion. "Why isn't her healing factor working?"

"I don't know – for whatever reason, she's not fighting to heal herself."

Bruce swallowed hard, nodded shortly. His friend turned to go back in, and he couldn't prevent the words bursting from his mouth. "J'onn - save her. Please, I... I need you to save her."

J'onn nodded. "You know I'll do my best."

Bruce didn't say anything as he walked back into the med-bay: doing his best didn't mean anything. Bruce needed him to say, 'I will'. He needed to be told that she'd be okay, that losing that amount of blood wasn't all that dangerous.

A hand descended gently onto his shoulder, and he looked into Clark's face. He was totally failing at reassurance. "She'll be alright, Bruce," he said.

_She better be. _He looked at the still-shut infirmary doors, and the trail of J'onn's bloody footprints. Suddenly his finger was seized in the grip of his daughter, her tiny fist not even reaching all the way around. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice reminded him that newborns couldn't see more than a very blurry image, that she wasn't thinking anything further than sleep-food-poop, but he chose not to listen. Instead, father and daughter regarded each other seriously.

They both needed Diana to pull through. He stroked the pad of his thumb over her fist as he looked at Dick and his son. He couldn't let his children grow up without their mother. When he turned back to her, the baby girl was fast asleep.

No one spoke; it was far too tense for that. For the first time in thirty years, Bruce closed his eyes and did what he swore he'd never do again.

He prayed.

---

J'onn knew that the average human had just over four and a half litres of blood. He knew that pregnant women had slightly more than that. He knew that if a human lost more than three of those litres then death would not be far behind.

None of the medical facts running through his brain helped at this moment in time.

Because he was _paddling _in visceral fluid. The crimson liquid was everywhere, every cubic inch of the metal floor covered in scarlet. J'onn was a warrior. He hadn't been for a long time before he came to this planet, but the things he had done here changed him. Perhaps those changes were not for the worse - his friends were warriors, and they were good people. But when he came to this planet, began to fight, he saw violence. He saw bloodshed.

But not like this. Because this blood did not come from a nameless human he did not know, or love. This was the blood, the life, of Diana.

And unless J'onn did something to help her, his best friend was going to die.

He'd tried contacting her telepathically, but it was getting harder. Doctor Jarvis looked at him. "See if you can contact her again. She needs to keep fighting."

He nodded and put a hand to Diana's increasingly pale forehead. _Diana. Can you hear me? Diana! _

He couldn't see her, which in itself was bad. Her total fatigue and blood-loss had clouded her mind. It was like standing in thick fog. The voice that answered him was terrifyingly weak. He'd heard her that weak before, and then it was when she'd fought to the point of exhaustion. _J'onn...?_

_Diana, you have to keep fighting! _

_Tired... _He sensed her rally slightly, alarm fuelling it. _Are the children-?_

_They're both fine, Diana, _he reassured._ Healthy and beautiful. Bruce is here too; they all need you to-_

_Good...Bruce will...look after them...He loves them, doesn't he, J'onn? _

_He loves them_, he told her. _But he loves you too, Diana. _

_I...I know...J'onn, I...I'm so tired, I..._

Her mental voice failed completely then, fading into nothingness. J'onn called to her again. _Diana! Diana! _

J'onn questioned for a moment if he should have lied, if he should have told her that Bruce felt nothing for the babies and was refusing to take care of them. _Diana, answer me! _

Nothing.

He could sense her - she was alive, holding on, but barely...and she was still fading.

_Diana! _

**---**

**A/N: I'd imagine a lot of people don't like me right now... Review please!**


	19. A Beginning

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. It's also the final one, so enjoy!**

**Chapter Nineteen - A Beginning**

Finally, after what seemed an interminable amount of time, the doors opened again. They were all on their feet in seconds. The doctor's face was tired, but she nodded. She _nodded._ Relief overwhelmed him. She was okay. Diana was okay.

"The bleeding has stopped. We did consider an emergency hysterectomy, but in the end it wasn't necessary."

"Can I–?"

"Yes, just you and another visitor. She's not regained consciousness just yet."

"But she will?"

Doctor Jarvis nodded. "She will, soon. There are a few–"

Bruce was inside before she'd finished her sentence, his daughter still held securely in his arms. The doctor stared after him, somewhat amused, and then shook her head.

Dick walked toward Clark. "You should go in. Take the baby and go see his mother."

Clark seemed surprised. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," he said. "Diana's your best friend, and you're one of the godfathers." He smiled. "Go see her."

The baby boy was transferred tenderly from one godfather to the other, and then Clark moved inside. His heart twisted at the sight. Though there had been spare sets of scrubs laid on the floor to act as absorption, it could not disguise the fact that there was blood _everywhere_. Lord, she must have been so close to– to–

_No. Don't think that. _He focused instead on the steady, if slow, beat of her heart. It was at a complete contrast to the way Bruce's heart was pounding. Still, she looked so pale... whiter than the sheet that she lay on. Clark moved closer to the bed, not needing super-hearing to pick up on what Bruce was whispering to the baby in his arms. It sounded as though he were reassuring himself as much as her – after all, the little girl would never know just how close she'd come to losing her mother without ever knowing her.

He'd lifted the baby up slightly, his mouth against her smooth forehead, pressing gentle kisses with each murmured word. "Your mom's going to be okay... she's alright, she'll be fine..."

Clark felt a little like he was eavesdropping. J'onn, moving a little way from Diana, smiled at him. Is_ she going to be alright? _Clark asked.

J'onn's nod was encouraging. _She'll be fine. We didn't have to perform an emergency hysterectomy, as feared we might. She'll be drowsy when she wakes, but I imagine she'll be happy to see her children. _

Clark smiled and nodded, glancing at the baby is his arms. He'd never been so nervous in his life – he was so afraid of accidentally harming the little boy that he felt he was barely holding onto him at all. He felt J'onn's sympathetic amusement. _How will you cope with your own children? _

Clark privately felt he was more scared of Bruce than he was of himself, but chortled inwardly. _I expect I'll just spend several decades in an air of constant fear. _

_I suppose_– J'onn cut off, looking toward the bed, where Diana was stirring. All three men gathered around the bed, waiting anxiously for her to open her eyes.

---

_Hypnos, I'm exhausted..._

Still, there was a reason for her to wake up, a good reason – two of them in fact. Squinting against the bright light, Diana cracked her eyes open. She was greeted by Bruce's face, looking more relieved than she'd ever seen him. His smile was so blinding she had no choice but to echo it. _Make that three. _

"Hey," she said, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Weak," she answered. "It's not a feeling I like." She turned to smile at Clark and J'onn, her eyes automatically finding her son's face before turning back to Bruce and her daughter. "How are they?"

"Hungry, I think," he said.

She smiled, and lifted her weary arms out for her little girl. She seemed distressed at being woken by the movement, and opened her mouth to cry. Diana didn't care. Her own daughter. "My own little star..." she whispered.

She shrugged her left shoulder out of the gown, letting it fall down her chest. In her peripheral vision, she saw Clark turn away, but she had never been all that modest about her body. After all, breasts were for this purpose, weren't they? Besides, it didn't matter what anyone else thought, because watching the little girl feed was wonderful. She was _her _daughter now, irrevocably. There was no more ancient way a mother could bond with her child.

After a few moments, the baby, warm and now fed, drifted off to sleep against her mother's breast. Diana fought the urge to weep in joy as she stroked the downy golden curls from her forehead. "Blonde," she murmured softly.

"My mother was blonde," Bruce said quietly.

"So is mine," she smiled. "That ought to please her."

A sudden thought struck her – Diana was more than overjoyed to have a son as well as a daughter, but Hippolyta might be less so. Diana had had time in Man's World to know that males were just as wonderful and valuable as females, but on Themyscira there were no men to prove that to the queen. She glanced at the baby still in Clark's arms, biting her bottom lip slightly. What would her mother's reaction be to having a grandson as well as a granddaughter?

Bruce's hand caught hers. "Princess, if she has even half the wisdom of her daughter, then she'll love him."

Diana smiled warmly at him, and then lifted their daughter into his arms. The baby in Clark's began wailing, as if in knowledge that it was his turn. "At least, once he's been fed."

She held her arms out to Clark. If anything, the smile on her face got brighter when she looked into the face of her son.

Bruce looked on with a smile. He knew she'd never admit it, but it looked as though Diana had a favourite already. Well, that was okay. His baby girl shifted in his arms. So did he.

---

Clark soon left, only to be replaced by Shayera, John, then a highly enthusiastic new 'Uncle Wally', all coming to say hello to the Wonder Bats. Wally's nickname for them had stuck – as so far it was the only name the twins had.

Once Zatanna had been in to tell Diana her kids were beautiful and to joke to Bruce that they looked more like Superman than him – something he did not find that amusing – Diana sighed. "We really should name them."

"Is it odd that... I'm not sure I want to?" he asked from the chair by her bedside. The babies were in cribs now, one on either side. It didn't stop their parents from occasionally stroking limbs or gently touching faces. After so long it was difficult to believe that they were really here.

She looked at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... if we give them names, Diana, it's... the first step to moulding them."

He looked up from his quiet contemplation of his daughter's face at the princess's giggle. "Bruce... you are the last person I thought I would say this to, but... you are being ridiculous."

He blinked. "I am?"

"Yes!" she chuckled. "You don't want to name them? Bruce, what are you suggesting we do – wait until they're old enough to tell us what they'd like to be called?"

"You may have a point," he admitted.

"Besides, just by having children we've made the most selfish decision in the world," she said. "They didn't ask to be born."

That was also true, but now that they were here, there was no way in hell he'd want it otherwise. "Alright, so if we're not going to keep calling them 'little sun and little star', what are we going to call them?"

"I think, for the boy... Nicholas," she said. "Nicholas Alexander."

"Nice and Greek," he commented dryly.

She shrugged. "Nothing wrong with reflecting my heritage in our son," she answered. "It is his too."

He nodded. "Nicholas Alexander. I like it."

She beamed. "Good." Leaning forward slightly, she ran a finger along the curve of her son's cheek. "Nicholas."

"Or Nick. Or Nicky," Bruce added with a grimace.

She grinned. "I cannot imagine any son of ours allowing _anyone_ to call him 'Nicky', can you?"

He smirked. "No, I guess not." His gaze returned to their daughter. "And her?"

Diana began to answer, but was interrupted half-way through her reply by a huge yawn. He wasn't surprised. Since she'd woken, her healing had obviously kicked in; there was colour back in her cheeks and she'd been quite lively for the last few hours – Bruce had a sneaking suspicion that adrenalin and the joy of being a new mother had a lot to do with that.

He smiled warmly at her. "Get some rest, Diana. They're not going anywhere, and neither am I."

She shook her head. "I'll sleep when they both have names." She paused, looking slightly sheepish. "But I don't suppose you could get me an iced mocha, could you?"

He grinned. "I think I can manage that."

She returned the smile, and settled back on her pillows with a small sigh, closing her eyes. A few seconds later, the doors hissed open again. "Back already?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Hardly."

With a gasp, Diana's eyes flew open. "Mother!"

Hippolyta stood in the doorway, a warm smile on her face. "Hello, my little sun and stars."

"W-When did you get here? _How _did you get here?"

"Hermes visited me," her mother said simply, moving closer. "The messenger of the gods informed me that you had given birth. He was on his way here, in order to bestow the gifts of the gods on your child, and he graciously volunteered to bring me with him."

Diana looked automatically at her daughter. "I've not seen Hermes, Mother."

Hippolyta only smiled. "The gods are only visible to us when they wish to be, daughter."

Diana watched her mother lean over each crib in turn, brushing her fingers lightly over the sleeping babies' cheeks. "They are beautiful, Diana," she murmured. "Have you given them their names yet?"

Diana drew closer and looked down at her slumbering children. "Yes and no," she answered. She gestured first to her son. "Nicholas Alexander," she said, then grimaced, "but we have not yet chosen a name for the girl. I intend to give her the middle name of Persephone, though."

Hippolyta nodded and smiled faintly. "Excellent choices," she commended. "Persephone will be pleased, to say the least." Nicholas gurgled a bit in his sleep and Hippolyta reached down, rubbing his back soothingly. "There, there, little sun," she whispered.

Diana could see the tenderness in her mother's eyes, so similar to what she herself remembered receiving as a child. Still, there had been something nagging at her. "Mother?"

Hippolyta looked up at her. "Yes, dear?"

"You..." Diana hesitated for a moment, but then resolutely continued. "You are not disappointed, are you?" She nodded toward Nicholas. "A boy is hardly traditional..."

Much to Diana's surprise, Hippolyta laughed. "Diana, where in Tartarus did you get such an idea? Not traditional..." When Diana continued to stare at her blankly, Hippolyta elaborated, "Remember Andromache and Penelope, my child. Both of them bore fine sons after leaving Themyscira, each worthy of the respect of their mothers' people." She smiled down at the babies. "I have no doubt my grandson will be just as worthy as they were. And my granddaughter as well."

Diana blinked back tears. "Thank you."

Hippolyta leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I cannot stay long. In fact I am in need of transportation back to Themyscira."

"Speak to J'onn," Diana advised. "I'm sure he'll be able to transport you back."

Hippolyta nodded. "He is your gentle friend from the planet of war, is he not?"

Diana nodded. "Somewhat of a paradox, but yes."

The queen nodded then paused. "Diana, when you say _we _have not yet chosen a name for your daughter, you mean...?"

"She means me."

Diana couldn't help but feel a little tiny bit of satisfaction that the Batman could even sneak up on the queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta jumped, her hand going automatically to the hilt of her sword. Bruce did not seem concerned, and only handed Diana her drink, checked on the twins and then faced Hippolyta, looking very _un_ashamed of himself.

Slowly, the queen released her sword. "I might have known."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That my daughter would share my weakness for strong, dark men," she continued.

He wasn't sure if being compared to a god was an insult or not. Of course, considering who the god in question _was_...

Diana sat forward abruptly. "Mother! How dare you–"

Hippolyta shook her head. "I am not, Diana. Merely making an observation."

Years ago, during the Thanagarian invasion, Bruce had once told GL than women were the most mysterious creatures in the universe. It was an opinion he found himself repeating when Hippolyta – the woman who had guarded her kingdom for millennia against all men – walked toward him and kissed him gently on the forehead. She then said, "Take care of them, Bruce Wayne. I leave my daughter and grandchildren in your charge. I've no doubt you will be worthy of them."

Without further ado, the queen of the Amazons gave one last glowing glance to her daughter and grandchildren, then left the room, Bruce and Diana staring after her. "Is she going to do that a lot?" he finally asked. "Pop in and out of our lives?"

Diana nodded. "It would not surprise me. I imagine she will want to keep you on your toes," she added with a small smirk.

Next to him, their daughter stirred and woke up, fretting slightly. Bruce picked her up and shushed her gently.

He felt Diana's gentle hand on his elbow. "Name her."

"What?"

She smiled. "Give her a name. She's your daughter, Bruce. You have the right to choose her name."

He blinked back another lot of tears. "Thank you."

She nodded. "What's it to be then?"

He didn't need to think about it. "Sarah. My mother's middle name."

"What does it mean?"

He looked at his children, then back at Diana. "'Princess,'" he said simply.

A slow, trembling smile spread over her face, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment, knowing how the other felt. She nodded. "Sarah."

His watch beeped, reminding him that it was midnight EST. He looked at Diana, knowing what she'd ask if she could. He also knew that it was the one thing she would never ask him to do. "I'll talk to Dick," he assured her. "He can take patrolling Gotham tonight."

Her face relaxed. "Thank you."

He nodded, but still hesitated slightly. "Are you sure you want me to stay?"

She nodded. "I'm sure. I… I want you to be here."

It wasn't a guarantee. It wasn't marriage, or an affirmation of love. But it was what birth was meant to be, he supposed.

It was a beginning.

---

**A/N: The epilogue will be up soon, but review this one please!**


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: Very little BMWW here, since I was planning on leaving it at the previous chapter, but this is for AQ, based on an idea of hers. Thanks, hon! **

**Epilogue **

Shayera cursed under her breath as the infirmary doors hissed open. Had it always been such a loud noise? She tiptoed inside to see Bruce already on his feet, muscles tense. She smirked; a daddy for less than four hours and already he was on maximum-defense alert.

"Relax, it's just me."

"Huh? Oh right." He relaxed and looked back at the children, still sleeping. "Reflex."

"I bet," she replied. "How are they all doing?"

"Fine. All still fast asle–"

He spoke too soon; Sarah stirred, then opened her eyes and her mouth, crying. The sound inevitably woke Nicholas, though he didn't cry. Bruce crossed to his daughter and picked her up gently, making soft shushing noises that Shayera didn't think he was aware of making. She bit her lip to keep from grinning at the image of Batman making baby-noises. The girl had only been born less than a day and already she had a daddy who would give her the world in a heartbeat.

Of course, being Bruce Wayne, he actually _could_ give her the world. At the moment, though, it didn't seem like that idea was impressing Sarah that much. She only cried louder, causing both Nicholas to cry as well as her mother to stir slightly. Bruce looked positively panicked at having to deal with two screaming babies and an Amazon who desperately needed to rest.

Shayera smiled, figuring that Nicholas was only crying because someone was keeping him from his sleep. "I can take him for a walk around the Watchtower if you want me to," she offered.

Bruce hesitated for a moment. Shayera knew not to take it personally – it wasn't about her. With the exception of Clark, she doubted there was anyone Bruce would just allow to take his son without serious thought. Finally he nodded. "Alright."

She smiled. "I won't go far, don't worry. And I'll look after him."

He nodded. "I know."

Shayera walked to the crib and picked up the tiny little boy, cradling his head and trying not to let her emotions show. It helped that he looked so much like his mother. Still... this might be as close to Rex as she was ever going to get. With another reassuring smile to Bruce, she left the infirmary with Nicholas, not really having a destination in mind.

It was only just coming up to dawn GMT, and with the exception of the skeleton staff and the hero on monitor duty, there wasn't really anyone around to stare at Hawkgirl carrying a baby. Now that she was out of the Infirmary, the little boy in her arms had relaxed, and was no longer crying. He wasn't asleep either, but was quiet, his eyes wandering around. Shayera knew that as a newborn he wouldn't be able to see anything clearly, but he was certainly giving it his best shot. She found herself in the transporter room, in front of the panoramic window. Best view of Earth in the galaxy.

She was silent for a while, patting Nicholas gently on the back. When she looked down, his dark blue eyes were on her face. "You know, kid, I like you, but you stand no chance of being normal." She smirked. "Not with those two as parents. Now don't get me wrong, they're going to love you and your sister completely, but whether they'll love each other..."

She smiled and ran a finger gently over his nose. Nicholas grabbed her finger with surprising strength. There was no one else around, but Shayera found herself speaking in a whisper anyway. "Though to be fair, there's no question that your daddy loves your mom. We were on this mission once, in Gorilla City, and Diana got buried beneath a crashing missile. She was fine, of course, but I'd never seen anyone more desperate in my life as your dad was to get her out, and they hadn't even known each other that long then."

She sighed. "Anyway, this is what we do. We look after that planet down there, and all the people on it. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be doing it too. Once your dad gets used to the idea anyway, because you can bet your enormous trust-fund-to-be that he's going to fight tooth and nail against it." She winked at the baby. "But don't worry. We'll get your mom to work on him."

When she looked down again, Nicholas's eyes were shut, and he was fast asleep. Shayera smiled. He really was a good-looking kid. Though, with Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman as his parents, a handsome face was fairly inescapable. God help the girls of Gotham City. Her thoughts settled on Sarah for a moment. _And the boys, for that matter. _

She knew he was asleep, but she continued to whisper to the baby anyway. "And if you need help, if you need anything, you come to your Auntie Shayera, okay? Or anyone in the League, actually. One big happy family, that's us."

There was a faint noise behind her, and Shayera turned to see John staring at her. "Oh. Um, hi."

---

_Aw hell._ This just wasn't _fair_.

John only wanted to go home. It had been a long hard day, and while he was thrilled that Bruce and Diana's children had been born and it looked like that particular piece of the League family were reunited, all he really wanted to do was sleep. Which required that he teleport back down to Earth. Which meant using the transporter room.

Which was occupied by one Shayera Hol, looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.

With a baby in her arms.

Hence the first thought. Not fair.

Her back was to him, and she was whispering softly to the child. The room was too echoey and her voice too quiet for him to make out the distinct words, but it was all too easy anyway.

For half a second, she wasn't holding Bruce and Diana's son, she was holding theirs.

For half a second, she wasn't a room and a million miles away from him, she was his wife.

For half a second, they were together, and happy.

He took an involuntary step forward, then stopped. At the sound, Shayera turned, an expression of surprise in her bright green eyes. Rex had had those eyes. "Oh. Um, hi."

He moved closer. "Hey. Isn't it past his bedtime?"

She chuckled softly and looked at Nicholas. "Probably, but his sister decided that she was going to wake up, so..."

"So Bruce just handed his son to you?"

She smiled. "I guess. I'm going to take him back in a minute." She paused, her eyes still on the baby. "John? Do you ever... think about him?" She looked up, her gaze burning into his with a startling intensity. "About Rex?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "All the time," he confessed quietly.

She shook her head. "So… what? You just... don't want him to happen?"

"Of course not!"

In her arms, Nicholas stirred fretfully, and John lowered his tone. "Of course not," he repeated. "Shay... Rex was... is... everything I ever wanted. Everything I _still _want."

"Then take it, John!" she hissed back.

It felt very odd, to be having this argument in whispers, about a child when another child lay between them.

"You know what, one of these days I'm going to get tired of waiting!" she continued. "I know what you want, John, everyone knows! Do you think Mari doesn't know? She deserves more than you're giving her, and so do I!"

John folded his arms and stared obstinately back at her. "Look, I've told you before, it's not that simple –"

"And I've told you before, _that_ is _bullshit_!" she replied. "John, I don't care what Fate may or may not have decreed. What I care about is that you're putting my life on hold. What I care about is that, as it stands, this baby," she nodded to the child in her arms, "is the closest I'm likely to ever get to having a son of my own if I keep waiting for you to make up your mind."

She turned away for a moment, lifting Nicholas and pressing a kiss to his forehead as if saying goodbye to something. When she turned back to him, he understood. She was saying goodbye, if need be, to the possibility of Rex.

"I'm going to ask one question, John. And it requires a yes or no answer. If the answer's yes, then we do something about it _now. _And not answering is a no as far as I'm concerned. Got it?"

He nodded mutely.

"Do you love me?"

---

Ten minutes later, Shayera walked back inside the infirmary with an incandescent smile on her face to see Diana still asleep. Bruce was also slumbering in a chair at her bedside, Sarah still cradled protectively in his arms. Moving silently, Shayera put Nicholas gently down in his crib on the other side of his mother, then took a step back. They really did look like a perfect family.

As Shayera left the med-bay, she hoped that her own perfect family wasn't too far away.

---

**A/N: Ok, so I'm a total sap. I'm not apologising. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, you've kept me going. Stay tuned to see if there's a sequel, and I hope you enjoyed this story,**

**Isis**


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